Chicago Bears: Deon Bush, Deiondre’ Hall have a lot to prove

Deon Bush and Deiondre’ Hall must prove that they can be counted on to be the primary backups at safety for the Chicago Bears in 2018.

For the first time in seemingly years, the Chicago Bears have entered training camp with no question marks at who is starting at safety. Adrian Amos, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and second-year player Eddie Jackson are entrenched as starters. Both showed tremendous promise last season and it’s exciting to think about what Year 2 of this duo can do in 2018.

However, the depth at safety can be seen as a concern. Deon Bush is the backup strong safety, while Deiondre’ Hall is the primary backup at free safety. Both are third-year players who, while having upside, lack NFL game experience. Bush started six games in 2016 yet none since; Hall has never started an NFL game and the bulk of his playing time has come at cornerback rather than safety.

Both Bush and Hall have intriguing upside. Bush was known as a hard-hitting missile coming out of Miami, while Hall was a rangy cornerback with good size (6-2) at Northern Iowa. Having spent their entire NFL careers under the tutelage of coaches Vic Fangio and Ed Donatell should help, but there’s no taking away the fact that the two have combined for just 37 tackles in two seasons.

Lack of playing time has hurt both players’ development, as they have been relegated to special teams duties and the occasional snap to give a starter a breather. If given the opportunity, both players might flourish. However, they are still waiting for their time and are still looked at as unproven backups.

Veterans Eric Reid (who has experience in Vic Fangio’s system), Tyvon Branch (coming off a torn ACL), Mike Mitchell and Kenny Vaccaro are still available as free agents. If Bush or Hall fail to make much of an impact in the preseason, Ryan Pace might feel obligated to bring in one of the veteran free agents to add some quality, proven depth.

It’s not fair to call this a make-or-break season for Bush and Hall, but they have been given a much larger opportunity than years before. It would be great if the former fourth-round picks turned into quality backups who wouldn’t miss a beat if something happened to Amos or Jackson. Having a strong preseason would be great first steps for both to assure their spot (and role) on the 2018 roster and beyond.