The Chicago Bears are doing some housekeeping leading up to the start of the new league year and free agency. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the club has decided to released veteran cornerback Buster Skrine after spending the last two seasons In Chicago. This move will save around $2 million against the Bears' salary cap heading into this offseason, but the club will carry around $3.3 million in dead money in 2021 following the release.
Skrine arrived in Chicago back in 2019 when he inked a three-year, $16.5 million contract that included $8.5 million guaranteed. The nickel corner was a sizable piece in the Bears secondary out of the gate in 2019, starting in four of his 16 games played and playing 68% of the defensive snaps. This year, however, Skrine missed the final four games and playoffs due to a concussion, which was the sixth reported concussion of his career.
The 2020 campaign wasn't as productive as his first season with the Bears. The 31-year-old allowed 78.1% of his targets to be completed and quarterbacks combined for a 125.7 pass rating when targeting Skrine.
The 10-year veteran originally entered the league as a fifth-round draft choice of the Browns back in 2011 out of Chattanooga. He spent the first four seasons of his career in Cleveland before joining the New York Jets in 2015 when they signed him to a four-year, $25 million contract. Given the shaky play in 2020 and his history of concussions, it will be curious to see what the next step of Skrine's pro career will be.
