The Bears intend to sign veteran slot corner Buster Skrine, per multiple reports, to a three-year, $16.5 million deal with $8.5 million guaranteed.



It’s a 3-year deal worth $16.5M with $8.5M guaranteed, source said. https://t.co/l6eCOqpWhm — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2019

Skrine, who turns 30 in late April, has split his eight-year career between the Cleveland Browns (2011-2014) and New York Jets (2015-2018). He didn’t record an interception in 2018, though he did break up eight passes while forcing a fumble and recording half a sack. Opposing quarterbacks had a 124.2 passer rating when targeting Skrine, per Pro Football Focus.



Skrine has nine interceptions in his career but hasn’t had more than one in a season since 2014, his final year with Cleveland.



Given those numbers, and given the contract to which the Bears will reportedly sign Skrine on Wednesday, Ryan Pace may be testing the theory that slot corner success is predicated on the success of an entire defense. The Jets’ defense ranked 29th in points allowed and 21st in defensive DVOA last year, while the Bears ranked first in both categories.



Skrine played 90 percent of his defensive snaps for the Jets in the slot last year, so this signing all but assures Bryce Callahan will not return to the Bears. Callahan very well could command greater than the $8.5 million in guarantees and $5.5 million average annual salary the Bears are ready to give Skrine.



Callahan proved to be one of the league’s better slot corners over the last two years, though he missed games in every one of his four seasons due to injuries, including the final three and a half games of 2018 after suffering a foot injury in Week 14.

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