The Bears turned to the Canadian Football League for their first offseason acquisition. Chicago landed Calgary cornerback Tre Roberson, who’s quite the hot commodity, considering he chose the Bears over a handful of other NFL teams.
Adam Schefter first reported the signing Tuesday evening before Roberson took to Twitter to share his excitement at joining the Bears — and he’s already talking Super Bowl.
We can certainly speculate what Roberson’s signing means for the future of Prince Amukamara, who was already predicted to be a cap-casualty.
But let’s get to know the Bears’ new cornerback. Here are five things to know about Tre Roberson:
1. Roberson was considered the top free agent in the CFL
The Bears are getting not only the most-sought after cornerback in the CFL, but arguably the top free-agent in the entire league. Chicago certainly feels high on him considering they’re expected to give Roberson the largest CFL-to-NFL compensation since the Dolphins signed Cameron Wake for $4.9 million in 2014, according to Adam Schefter.
Roberson, a CFL All-Star, had an impressive 2019 season with seven interceptions and 41 tackles in 16 games with the Stampeders. Roberson also won the Grey Cup in his first season with Calgary in 2018.
2. Roberson played quarterback in college
Roberson is a converted cornerback that started as a quarterback in college at Indiana and Illinois State. Roberson started his collegiate career as a quarterback at Indiana, where he started before losing the starting job to now-Eagles backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld.
When Roberson transferred to Illinois State in 2014, he served as their starting quarterback for two seasons before converting to cornerback for his first professional stint.
3. This isn’t Roberson’s first time in the NFL
Roberson started his professional career as an undrafted free agent with the Vikings in 2016. He converted from quarterback to cornerback in his NFL debut. While Roberson had an impressive preseason with Minnesota, he was cut and later re-signed to the Vikings practice squad. Roberson spent the 2016 season on the practice squad until he was cut in September 2017.
While this isn’t Roberson’s first time in the NFL, he’s never played a regular-season snap. You’d expect that to change after the Bears paid him handsomely.
4. Roberson turned down nine other teams to sign with Bears
The Bears weren’t alone in wanting to sign Roberson from the CFL. Roberson apparently turned down nine other others when he chose the Bears, according to Adam Schefter. Although reasons could vary from team to monetary compensation.
The Patriots may have been one of those teams also in the market for his services, as Roberson recently had a workout with New England, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
The Colts were also one of those 10 teams that extended an offer to Roberson, according to IndyStar.
The 49ers, Vikings, Lions, Chargers, Buccaneers, Colts and Cardinals were also reported to have had Roberson in for a workout, according to NBC Sports.
5. Roberson was Indiana’s Mr. Football in 2010
Roberson hails from Indianapolis, and he played high school football for Lawrence Central, where he was dubbed 2020 Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Football after he lead the Bears to their first appearance in the Class 5A championship game. In his high school career, Roberson completed 144 of 237 passes for 2,611 yards with 24 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also rushed for 1,950 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Roberson also went on to play quarterback at Indiana, but he transferred to Illinois State after he lost the starting job to Nate Sudfeld, who is now a backup for the Eagles.
