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Kindle Vildor started the first 10 games at cornerback for the Chicago Bears, but the team benched him Week 12 in favor of veteran Artie Burns.
The Bears selected Vildor out of Georgia Southern in the fifth round of the 2020 draft, and the hope this season was that he would develop into a solid corner opposite Jaylon Johnson. That hasn’t happened, and now, the team is giving Burns a shot.
Along with Johnson, Burns played 100% of the team’s snaps at corner against the Detroit Lions Week 12 on Thanksgiving, while Vildor’s role was reduced to special teams only.
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Bears DC: Vildor is Slumping
“I would say Kindle has been in a little bit of a rut,” Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai said on November 24, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. The Bears DC added:
It’s hard when you’re the only corner getting targeted because Jaylon’s targets have been down And he’s a young corner. He’s going to have to go through those growing pains a little bit. He’s going to have to endure it, and it’s a good challenge for him to make sure he’s mentally tough enough to go through that. And we’re here to support him to go through that, and we’ve got to make sure that we help him out when we can … even if it’s rotation or whatever it is that we’ve got to do to make sure he is put in a situation that he can excel in to help him come out of it.
Vildor has an overall grade from Pro Football Focus of 48.8 to go with a 44.1 coverage grade so far this season. He been targeted 46 times, allowing 32 receptions. Opposing quarterbacks have a collective passer rating of 136.7 against him, and he’s allowing 16.4 yards per reception. After letting veteran CB Kyle Fuller walk this past offseason, it has become clear Vildor isn’t going to be the long-term answer to replace him, and as a result, his benching doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
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It’s Artie Burns Time
Burns had a solid rookie campaign for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2016, starting nine games. He amassed three interceptions, 13 passes defensed, and two tackles for loss that year. The three picks remain his career-high. He has started 33 games over his five-year career, accumulating four interceptions, 28 PDs, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He had two tackles and a pass defensed in the win over Detroit.
This is the first time the Bears have given Burns a good look after he signed with the team in 2020. He tore his ACL in the offseason last year, and didn’t play at all. Now, 13 weeks into the NFL season, he’s getting a chance to show what he can do. He has been largely invisible since joining the team last spring, so he remains a huge question mark in the secondary.
This doesn’t mean Vildor’s days are done in the Windy City, though.
“The Bears aren’t giving up on Vildor, but pulling him out when he’s having a tough time makes sense,” Biggs wrote on November 26. “There’s a good chance the Bears will need to prioritize the position in the offseason, but Vildor will get another shot to show what he can do and it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s starting again before this season ends.”
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