Kindle Vildor and Duke Shelley once seemed easy targets for any players the Bears brought in to compete against.
They'd been part of a secondary allowing a league-worst 103.3 passer rating against and Vildor lost his starting job last year. Kyler Gordon took Shelley's slot cornerback spot this year in camp.
Yet when the dust cleared, Vildor is back in a starting role at left cornerback when the Bears are in the nickle or dime defenses, and Shelley escaped the final cut regardless of how far down the rung he has fallen after he'd been starting slot cornerback in 2021 and part of 2020.
"You really are watching at home last night, alarm set, hoping not to get a call but you know you keep checking your phone every five or 10 minutes," Shelley said. "I didn't get no calls, I don't want a call. I'm good."
The call, of course, would have been to tell him to come early and bring along his playbook because he'd been cut.
The Bears had to put Tavon Young, Shelley's other job competitor, on injured reserve. But Shelley, like Vildor, thinks he'll be better covering receivers in this system of defense.
"I'm a hard worker, I'm discplined, where I'm supposed to be and here to make plays, here to make the team," Shelley said.
It could be Shelley is sitting well because there are two cornerbacks who were surprises to make the team over preseason Game 3 hero Greg Stroman Jr., and it's likely they rank behind the former Bears slot cornerback starter.
That would be Jaylon Jones and Lamar Jackson.
However, what Matt Eberflus said about his cornerback situation was enough to raise the hair on the back of all their necks, considering waiver wire pickups can be made on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in more Bears cuts.
Eberflus is zeroed in on cornerbacks.
"I think that's a spot that we're always looking to improve," Eberflus said. "If you can get guys that are competing and on the roster and bring them in, we're going to do that at every spot.
"I think that's an important piece there. That's still a spot that's in competition. I believe that is true."
Vildor might be above reproach now, as he seemed to lock up a roster spot by playing with the first team throughout OTAs. Then he had a hiccup with an injury and missed two preseason games, which is never good.
"I had a little injury so I had it the first two games, so being out there was big to me on Saturday," Vildor said. "I feel like I played well."
A defensive scheme under Matt Eberflus with more zone coverage might be a big reason his play has improved.
"I feel like it fits me a lot," Vildor said. "It lets me use my quickness, make plays on the ball."
Eberflus has maintained cornerbacks tend to flourish in his more simple system and do it quickly.
"I think in our scheme a lot of times those outside guys can play well because it's a vision defense, a vision break," Eberflus said. "Play some more zone, more than most people.
"I think he can have success there."
It goes beyond scheme, though. Vildor had that bad taste in his mouth from last year's struggles but Eberflus helped get rid of it.
"Whe we started in the beginning we said, 'hey, everybody has got a clean slate,' " Eberflus said. "So we don't look at last year. Well we certainly look at skill sets from last year but other than that, hey, it's a clean slate.
"Everybody has got step one and step two all the way through and he's had a couple injuries during training camp but he put his best foot forward the last preseason game. So he is where he is right now. And he's got to keep working."
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