Bears Sign S Xavier Woods

Woods didn’t come off the board until the sixth round of the 2017 draft, but he has worked exclusively as a starter since his second season. The Louisiana Tech product played out his four-year rookie contract in Dallas, where he intercepted five passes over 60 games and 48 starts.

Woods left the Cowboys in 2021 and settled for a cheap deal in Minnesota, where he boosted his stock over a 17-start season. The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder pulled in three INTs and set a career high with 10 passes defensed.

Woods parlayed his production with the Vikings into a three-year, $15.75MM payday in Carolina, where he started all 46 appearances and totaled five more picks. He set a career high in tackles (119) in 2024, the last year of the contract, and then returned to free agency to ink a two-year, $8MM pact with the Titans. Woods started in 10 of 11 games and snagged two INTs last year, but a hamstring injury led to a season-ending IR placement in mid-December.

Although Pro Football Focus ranked Woods a decent 43rd among 91 qualified safeties, the Titans released him in February. Six months later, the 31-year-old is joining the reigning NFC North champion Bears with 121 starts, 50 passes defensed and 15 INTs on his resume. He will reunite with Bears defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Al Harris, who was the Cowboys’ DBs coach during Woods’ rookie year.

Bryant, an ex-Seahawk and the Bears’ marquee free agent addition during the offseason, will be out until the fall as a result of a knee injury he suffered in practice last week. In the meantime, Woods could compete against Cam Lewis to start alongside first-round rookie Dillon Thieneman.