The Chicago Bears have a number of starting jobs up for grabs in training camp, including a pair in the secondary.
Following the departure of safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in free agency, the Bears need to find a running mate for free safety Eddie Jackson. And they don’t have a lot of time to find him.
Chicago re-signed Deon Bush to a one-year deal this offseason, and he was the presumptive starter until the Bears added veteran Tashaun Gipson in free agency.
But while Gipson is now the favorite to become the starter, Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano insists that the competition for the starting safety is “wide open” in training camp.
“They’re going to have to come in here and compete day after day after day,” Pagano told reporters last week. “It’s going to be a little bit different, obviously, with no preseason, but we’re going to create the competition and create the situations where we can do an honest eval on those guys and give them both an opportunity to win that job.”
Without offseason reps in organized team activities or preseason, it gives Pagano a smaller sample size to make a decision. Which is where Gipson would have the advantage given his veteran experience.
Still, the Bears have been high on Bush, who’s going to need a strong training camp performance if he’s going to edge out Gipson for the starting job.
