CHICAGO _ The Bears will have to match terms dictated by the rival Packers if they want to keep cornerback Kyle Fuller.
The Packers signed the 2014 first-round draft pick to an offer sheet Friday, and the Bears will have to review the deal and determine if they want to match it or lose him to the Packers and receive no compensation. Terms of the offer sheet are not yet known.
The Bears are expected to have five days to match the deal.
The Bears placed the transition tag on Fuller, who is coming off his finest season, and that guaranteed him a $12.907 million salary for 2018. The Packers have a need at cornerback, and the Bears would have a major hole in their secondary if they lose Fuller.
Chances are the Bears prepared for the possibility Fuller would sign an offer sheet elsewhere, and they are likely prepared to match the deal. They certainly have the salary-cap flexibility to do that. The structure of the contract is what will be interesting.
The Bears re-signed cornerback Prince Amukamara this week, but Fuller emerged as their No. 1 cornerback last season and the plan was to sign him to a multiyear deal after securing him with the transition tag. If the Bears find the terms the Packers set forth agreeable, they'll have a multiyear deal in place with Fuller.
