Chicago Bears rookie safety Jaquan Brisker could have beef with cornerback Duke Shelley if the two ever set foot on the same field again.
According to Bears sideline reporter Mark Grote of 670 The Score, Brisker was none too happy with the Vikings cornerback in the aftermath of Sunday’s season-ending loss, taking issue with the “disrespect” that Shelley showed for the Bears franchise after snagging his first-career interception late in the fourth quarter.
After picking off Bears fourth-string quarterback Tim Boyle late in the fourth quarter, Shelley added insult to injury and slammed the ball directly on the “C” logo at midfield, an obvious slight toward his former team that cut him prior to the 2022 season.
“That’s disrespectful,” Brisker said following the Bears’ 29-13 loss in Week 18, via Grote. “You don’t do that. You don’t disrespect our logo.”
Shelley, however, has no intention of apologizing for his actions. He made that much clear in a quote-tweeted response to Brisker later Sunday night.
“All love 9,” Shelley tweeted, “but they had to feel how disrespected I felt when they cut me @JaquanBrisker.”
All love 9… but they had to feel how disrespected I felt when they cut me @JaquanBrisker
Shelley Lost Spot With Bears to Undrafted Rookies
Shelley was a sixth-round pick for the Bears in the 2019 NFL draft who, over the course of three seasons, carved out a nice rotational role for himself in Chicago’s secondary. After playing mostly special teams as a rookie, he saw his defensive snaps gradually increase over his next two years until he was named the No. 3 cornerback behind Jaylon Johnson and Kindle Vildor heading into the 2021 season.
Opportunity didn’t always equate to success for Shelley, though.
While Shelley didn’t let opponents score a single touchdown against his coverage in 2021 and finished with three pass breakups, he allowed 76.1% of the targets thrown his direction to be caught — which, according to Pro Football Focus, ranked eighth-worst among cornerbacks who were targetted at least 40 times on the season. He also missed five tackles and finished as one of the Bears’ lowest-graded run defenders (35.6).
Still, Shelley had one more year left on his rookie contract coming into the 2022 season, making it affordable for the Bears to give him another shot at proving himself. But even after losing Tavon Young to a season-ending injury, the Bears’ new regime opted to give Shelley the boot at the end of training camp and filled out their depth roles with less proven players, including undrafted rookies Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell.
Will Shelley Remain With Vikings Beyond 2022 Season?
The Vikings signed Shelley to their practice squad a week after his release from the Bears and eventually promoted him to their active roster midway through the season, at which point the former Bears cornerback began to break out.
According to Pro Football Focus, Shelley played nine regular-season games — with five starts — for the Vikings in the second half of the 2022 season and allowed receptions on just 48.8% of the targets (20 of 41) thrown his way. He was also credited with a career-high 10 pass breakups over his nine games and received an impressive 84.9 coverage grade from PFF for his overall effectiveness in Minnesota.
That said, there are no guarantees that Brisker will get a chance to air his grievances with Shelley when the Bears and Vikings meet again in 2023 … mostly because it is unclear whether the Vikings will attempt to retain Shelley beyond this season. He has been a glue guy for their defense down the stretch and could continue to improve his resume during their playoff run, but Minnesota doesn’t have much cap space for 2023 and have three cornerbacks on rookie contracts — Andrew Booth jr., Akayleb Evans and Cameron Dantzler Sr. — all set to return for them in 2023.
With Patrick Peterson set to become a free agent in March, maybe the Vikings view Shelley as a more affordable veteran for the position, but it is still far from a sure thing that Shelley won’t be looking for a new team when the new league year begins.
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Jaquan Brisker Fires Back at Vikings Defender: ‘You Don’t Do That’