The Chicago Bears have a need at outside cornerback and they had a chance to make a move for one at the trade deadline by offering a deal to the Philadelphia Eagles for fifth-year pro Riq Woolen.
After opting not to make that move, or trying to reach an agreement on Woolen and coming up short, whatever the case may be, Chicago remains a strong landing spot for any free-agent cover corners who still have something to offer a contender down the back half of the NFL season.
According to Sharp Analysis, the best available defensive back fitting that bill as of Wednesday, November 11 is four-time Pro Bowler and former Defensive Rookie of the Year Marshon Lattimore.
Commanders Cut Marshon Lattimore During Offseason to Save Nearly $20 Million Against Salary Cap
Now 30 years old, the former first-round pick out of Ohio State started nine games for the Washington Commanders last season before the team released him during the spring in the interest of $18.5 million in salary cap savings this season.
Lattimore has earned nearly $105 million over the course of his nine-year NFL career, and though he is well past his prime, it is something of an eyebrow-raiser that no team has given him a shot yet in 2026 after he played 521 snaps in Washington last season.
Spotrac lists his market value at $8.5 million over a new one-year contract, which at this point would translate into something like $4 million with more than half of the Bears’ season now gone. But that is more money than Chicago, or any team, is going to pay Lattimore given the non-existent market for the CB.
That said, a league minimum deal to join a contender and perhaps get himself signed somewhere next offseason might be offer enough for Lattimore to join Chicago’s secondary as a low-risk swing that adds depth to the edge of the defense
Marshon Lattimore Spent Years With Bears’ Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen in New Orleans
Brad Berreman of FanSided suggested Lattimore as the best of among three cornerbacks who the Bears should look into as they navigate their bye week ahead of a return to action against the New Orleans Saints, Lattimore’s first NFL team, at Soldier Field on November 22.
“Those peak early years in New Orleans for Lattimore came with Bears’ defensive coordinator Dennis Allen as the Saints’ defensive coordinator. If he is or can be healthy, there could still be something there in a part-time role,” Berreman wrote. “It wouldn’t surprising, driven by Allen’s familiarity, to see a transaction wire note that Lattimore paid a visit to Halas Hall sometime soon. A signing might not happen, but it would be worthwhile to see what he looks like.”
Lattimore has tallied 98 pass breakups, 16 INTs, eight tackles for loss, five forced fumbles and two defensive touchdowns across 108 games played, all starts, since joining the league in 2017.
Bears Pitched on $105 Million CB After Riq Woolen Trade Didn’t Materialize