Getty Breon Borders has been signed to the Chicago Bears practice squad.
The Chicago Bears have signed defensive back Breon Borders to their practice squad, the team announced via Twitter on November 22.
Borders entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Duke in 2017 and he signed with the then-Oakland Raiders, spending most of the year on the practice squad until he was poached by the Buffalo Bills in December of that year.
He spent his 2018 season and most of his 2019 campaign with the Jacksonville Jaguars before getting signed by Washington, where he spent a few months. Borders landed in Tennessee with the Titans in 2020, where he stuck around the longest. The veteran cornerback played in 17 games (five starts) with the Titans, finishing with 27 total tackles (one for loss), seven passes defensed and an interception (stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference).
Borders caught on with the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, after they signed him of Tennessee’s practice squad. He appeared in one game for Arizona last year, but has yet to play in a regular season game this season. Over his five years in the league, he has played in 31 games, starting six.
Updated Look at Chicago Bears’ Practice Squad
In addition to Borders, the Bears’ 16-player practice squad consists of: wide receivers Nsimba Webster and Daurice Fountain, defensive end/tight end Sammis Reyes, tight end Chase Allen, fullback/tight end Jake Tonges, running back Darrynton Evans, offensive linemen Michael Niese and Kellen Diesch, quarterback Nathan Peterman, defensive linemen Jalyn Holmes and Gerri Green, defensive tackle Trevon Coley, linebacker DeMarquis Gates, defensive back Harrison Hand and safety A.J. Thomas.
The Bears flexed Evans up from the practice squad for their week 11 game against the Atlanta Falcons, and the team will likely do the same for at least the next three weeks while starting back Khalil Herbert is out with an injury.
While the majority of practice squad members don’t see the field during the regular season, it does happen every year. We’ll see if the 6-foot, 189-pound Borders gets an opportunity for the Bears yet this season.
Updated Look at Bears’ CB Situation
Heading into Week 12, the Bears have been battling multiple issues at the cornerback position. Starter Jaylon Johnson missed three games earlier in the year with a leg injury, and he has been battling through an oblique issue in recent weeks.
Johnson look hobbled at times in Chicago’s Week 11 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, but he said after the game that his oblique wasn’t that big of an issue. “It affected me from play one, really,” Johnson said, via Sean Hammond of Shaw Local. “And then, even when I felt like I started to feel good, now I’ve got to take on linemen and blockers trying to set edges on that right side and that’s very difficult, kept kind of aggravating it.”
While Johnson has been struggling with injuries, rookie corner Kyler Gordon has been struggling, period. In 337 coverage snaps this year, Gordon has allowed 50 receptions on 61 targets, according to Pro Football Focus. The Bears top draft pick in 2022 (No. 39 overall), Gordon has missed 10 tackles in 11 games, and opposing quarterbacks have a rating of 118.2 when throwing his way.
That said, the rookie CB has still shown flashes, particularly against the run, and he’s not a lost cause by any means. Still, improvement will be needed in order to justify taking him in Round 2, when receivers like George Pickens was still available.