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The Good Reasons Bears Can't Count Tyrique Stevenson Out Just Yet

Sure, the Bears drafted Malik Muhammad and Tyrique Stevenson makes mistakes, but there is another Chicago cornerback whose record also deserves scrutiny.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears draft pick Malik Muhammad closes on wide receiver Brenen Thompson.
Bears draft pick Malik Muhammad closes on wide receiver Brenen Thompson. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

One of the annual rites of spring at Halas Hall is naming the next cornerback who will be the one to take away Tyrique Stevenson's job.

Each start to offseason work begins with a surge of speculation about Stevenson finally losing the job many Bears fans anticipated he'd surrender from the minute after he caused the infamous Washington Commanders' 2024 Hail Mary victory with boneheaded negligence.

And guess what? Stevenson is still standing after it was said Nahshon Wright would replace him, after Zah Frazier was brought in with 4.36-second speed in the 40, and after an earlier challenge by Terell Smith before suffering a torn ACL.

The latest cause being championed by Stevenson's detractors is draft pick Malik Muhammad, the Texas cornerback whose availability to the Bears in Round 4 startled many draft followers.

ESPN's Ben Solak has joined in on the dogpile with a suggestion Stevenson is one of 14 players in the league likely to lose their job because of the draft.

Replacing Tyrique Stevenson?

Stevenson has been working hard to make sure he's up to the challenge and his comments about this have been a popular post on social media. This is nothing new, though, and neither are his promises to finally put all of his problems in the past.

Solak points out how Stevenson ranked third-worst in yards allowed per target (9.8) among all NFL cornerbacks, and brought up all of the great combine measurements Muhammad had making him a good candidate to replace Stevenson, like: a 4.42-second 40, a 39-inch vertical, a 10-foot-11 broad jump, and 32-inch arms to go with being 6 feet tall.

Solak's numbers are based on Pro Football Focus yards allowed per target. Stevenson's season was actually better using Stathead/Pro Football Reference numbers, but still not great at 9.0 yards per target.

Nevertheless, it would be better to see some actual professional football being played by Muhammad before declaring he should replace Stevenson. After all, this is a fourth-round pick for a reason and Stevenson was a second-rounder.

Jumping the gun on Tyrique Stevenson

Muhammad's PFF grade as a cornerback actually got worse each season he played for Texas. He'll need to prove he is something more than the backup type cornerback most Day 3 picks become, especially after he was only 432nd out of 896 cornerbacks in the country last year at number of receptions allowed (21).

This ascension by Muhammad is by no means a lock, but Solak does give an excellent reason for thinking this could finally be a cornerback who will replace Stevenson. He says the Bears are hoping Stevenson has an impressive season so he can leave in free agency and earn them a compensatory draft pick, possibly in Round 3.

Solak does make one other comment on the topic worth knowing beyond all of Muhammad's impressive numbers.

"Finding a depth cornerback to replace the outgoing Nahshon Wright was critical, as Stevenson's volatile play alongside Jaylon Johnson's injury history all but guarantees the No. 3 (Bears) corner will see time in Chicago," Solak wrote.

In that case, and if Stevenson finally does live up to his potential, perhaps it will be a different cornerback Muhammad is replacing. After all, Solak is right about one thing: Jaylon Johnson misses an awful lot of games. He has missed 24 regular-season games in six seasons.

Maybe Solak got the wrong cornerback who could be in danger of job loss, or at least one of a few.

Considering Johnson has cap hits coming of $24.5 million and $25 million the next two seasons, and has missed so many games, he could be every bit on the hot seat as much as Stevenson is this year. And Stevenson is unlikely to pull in a new contract anywhere close to what Johnson received.

Of those who are paid so much, so much is expected.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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