Getty Safety Dane Cruikshank is signing with the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears are adding another member to their secondary.
The Bears are signing former Tennessee Titans safety and special teams ace Dane Cruikshank, according to his agent, David Canter.
The 6-foot-1, 209-pound safety was a fifth-round pick (152nd overall) for the Titans out of the University of Arizona in 2018. He spent his first four seasons with Tennessee, predominantly playing on special teams before getting the opportunity to start in place of Amani Hooker for four games last year.
Now, the hard-hitting Cruikshank will get the chance to compete with the recently re-signed DeAndre Houston-Carson for the starting spot opposite Eddie Jackson.
#Bears new DB Dane Cruikshank knows how to lay the BOOM
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Cruikshank: Stats & Injury History
Cruikshank redshirted in 2015 at Arizona after playing at Citrus College as a freshman and sophomore in 2013-14.
He became a starter in 2016 as a junior and wound up playing in 25 games over the 2016-17 seasons. He amassed 134 total tackles (108 solo, six for loss),1.0 sacks, five interceptions, a forced fumble and 12 passes defensed in that span.
He declared for the draft in 2018 and was scooped up by the Titans. He made an impact on special teams immediately. He had 11 tackles and a touchdown when he caught a 66-yard score on a fake punt as a rookie.
The trickery! 👀
Fake. Punt. TD.
Kevin Byard with the throw to Dane Cruikshank for the 66-yard score.
He had a memorable block of an Adam Vinatieri field goal in a win over the Indianapolis Colts the following year in 2019. Injuries limited him in 2020, but he broke out a bit last year when given the opportunity to start.
Cruikshank played 415 total snaps on defense for the Titans in 2021. He appeared in 14 games and started four at safety. Opposing quarterbacks had a 95.9 rating when throwing his way, and he allowed 21 receptions on 29 targets, per PFF. He also had 43 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass defensed.
Staying healthy has been an issue for the hard-hitting safety. Cruikshank was placed on injured reserve twice in 2020. Once, with a season-ending groin injury, and he also had an undisclosed injury earlier that year. Additionally, he had a stint on IR last year with a knee injury.
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Cruikshank Has Been Coined ‘The Tight End Eraser’
Cruikshank is speedy and athletic (he ran a 4.41 40-yard dash and had a 38 1/2-inch vertical at the NFL scouting combine), and he has earned the nickname “tight end eraser” after making hits like this:
The 26-year-old safety (he turns 27 in April) has predominantly played in dime packages with the Titans, often lining up against the biggest pass catching opposing tight ends.
“Dane Cruikshank might have been the most under-appreciated piece of the team’s vastly improved defense in 2021,” Jack Gentry of A to Z Sports wrote. “Cruikshank proved to be crucial to the defense’s success, keeping elite tight ends, like Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Mike Gesicki, in check.”
For his part, Cruikshank has embraced whatever role he has gotten so far in the league.
“I feel like special teams is just based off effort,” Cruikshank told the Tennessean in 2019. “You just have to be willing to beat the man in front of you. You know what I’m saying? And want to be dominant … I want the coaches, after they see the film, to say, ‘Dane’s working hard. Dane can’t be stopped.’ Or, ‘We’ve got to game plan around Dane.’ I want to cause chaos out there; you know what I’m saying? That’s what I try to do.”
That sounds exactly like what new head coach Matt Eberflus and company are looking for.
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Bears Sign Hard-Hitting DB Who Could Compete for Starting Role