Chicago Bears: Position battles to watch during 2019 training camp
Nickel Corner: Kevin Toliver vs. Duke Shelley
The Chicago Bears surprised many by letting Bryce Callahan walk. Perhaps the injuries had something to do with it. Not having him in the playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles really hurt the Bears defense.
After letting Callahan walk, the Bears got his replacement through free agency. They signed Buster Skrine to a three-year contract. I believe Skrine gets the No. 1 job coming out of the gate. The Bears have been watching him for a couple of years now so now that they have him he’ll have the starting job…for now. The battle will be for the backup nickel between Kevin Toliver and Duke Shelley.
Toliver was an undrafted rookie signing by the Bears last season. He had the talent to go high but character red flags cost him. He played in 15 games and started one in place of Prince Amukamara. He held his own and didn’t look lost in those games. He looked like he deserved to be on the field. This season, the coaching staff will look at him more closely to see if he indeed deserves a bigger part of the defense.
The Bears drafted Duke Shelley in the sixth round (#205 overall) of this year’s draft. They might just have a steal in Shelley. Shelley had a productive career at Kansas State. He had eight interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) and 31 passes defended.
However, he suffered a leg injury that cut short his senior season. Though he recovered, he received no invites to any of the postseason camps, including the NFL Combine. He did do well in his Pro Day, running a 4.46-second 40-yard run, hoping he could move up in the draft.
No one came calling until the Bears. Despite all the frustrations he went through, he tweeted that he was grateful that his suffering ended up sending him to the best defense in the league. Now, the Bears get a player with a chip on his shoulders. They’ll get a player who will work his tail off to not only make it on the best defense but also show the rest of the league what they missed out on.
I got hurt. Missed the last 5 games of my senior year. No bowl game no Sr bowl game, no combine invite. Which led me to be playing for the best D & team in the NFL. Non of that would have been possible if I would have finished my Sr year. God works in mysterious ways
— Ocho 8⃣ (@DukeSaysGo) May 27, 2019
Winner: Shelley. Shelley will have a chip on his shoulder. He’s out to prove that the rest of the league made a mistake in not drafting him earlier. Eventually, I think he’ll win the starting job as well.