3. CB Kevin Toliver was never a serious option to start
The most surprising cut of the day came from the defensive side, as veteran cornerback Kevin Toliver was one of the casualties on Saturday. Signed out of LSU after going undrafted in 2018, Toliver was high on many evaluator lists and climbed his way up the depth chart to see significant playing time in 2019. When it was announced starting cornerback Prince Amukamara would be released in February, all eyes darted to Toliver to get a crack at the position. The Bears had other plans though.
General manager Ryan Pace signed free agents Tre Roberson and Artie Burns in the spring. But after injuries ruined both their camps, it came down to Toliver, second-round rookie Jaylon Johnson and Buster Skrine to start opposite Fuller.
Even with Johnson’s arrival, many fans believed Toliver would still get the first shot at starting to ease the rookie in. Unfortunately, the former Tiger felt a bit overhyped after his performance last season. Using data from Pro Football Reference, Toliver saw 11 completions on 16 targets with one score, allowing 14.7 yards-per-play and giving quarterbacks a 122.4 rating when targeted, worst among Bears defensive backs who had 10 targets or more in 2019.
Either the Bears feel they have enough to compete at the cornerback position, or they found someone they like on waivers and feel they can upgrade by cutting Toliver loose. Either way, Toliver wasn’t the answer to the team’s cornerback question.
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