As the Bears move on from star cornerback Kyle Fuller, they’ll sign veteran Desmond Trufant to replace him, a source said Friday.
Trufant, 30, played his first seven years with the Falcons and was with the Lions last year, when injury trouble limited him to six games. He finished with one interception, one sack and 20 tackles on 324 snaps.
Trufant hasn’t played a full 16 games since 2018. Over the last three years, opponents’ passer ratings when throwing his way have gone from 87.6 to 100.2 to 111.3. Quarterbacks completed 68.8% of their passes against him last season, according to Pro Football Reference.
The move comes after the Bears decided Thursday to drop Fuller to avoid his $20 million salary-cap hit for this season. Fuller had 19 interceptions in six seasons.
Without Fuller and Buster Skrine, who was released Wednesday, Trufant and Jaylon Johnson are the Bears’ presumptive starters for 2021.
NOTE: Long snapper Patrick Scales is returning on a one-year deal, the Bears announced. He has snapped in 69 games for the team since 2015.
