Bears Workout Ex-Chiefs CB Thakarius 'Bopete' Keyes

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BoPete Keyes was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the seventh round in 2020./

The Chicago Bears are looking at available defensive backs.

The Bears had cornerback Thakarius “Bopete” Keyes, a 2020 seventh-round draft pick (No. 237 overall) of the Kansas City Chiefs, in for a tryout this week, per the NFL’s waiver wire. The Bears are hurting at corner even more after they announced they placed three more players, including starting cornerback Artie Burns, on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on December 14.

Starting nose tackle Eddie Goldman, offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson, defensive end Mario Williams Jr. and practice squad linebacker Sam Kamara are also on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, so don’t be surprised if there are more workouts to come for Chicago.

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Thakarius ‘Bopete’ Keyes: Background & Stats

Keyes played his college ball at Tulane from 2016-2019. He played sparingly as a freshman and sophomore, but started 21 games his junior and senior seasons. He had 80 total tackles, 13 passes defensed and two interceptions in his final two years with the Green Wave.

The Chiefs took him in the final round of the draft last year and he played in eight games as a rookie, starting one, while also contributing on special teams. He finished with eight tackles in 2020 and was waived by Kansas City in August prior to the start of the season this year. He landed in Indianapolis with the Colts, who claimed him off waivers the next day, on September 1. He played in four games for the Colts this season, mostly on special teams, netting one tackle.

He was released by Indianapolis on November 22, and he had a cup of coffee on the New England Patriots‘ practice squad after that. The 6-foot-1, 202-pound defensive back doesn’t have any major red flags in his recent injury history, which is a plus.

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Bears Currently Hurting at DB

While second-year corner Jaylon Johnson has been the team’s top corner and one of the bright spots on a spotty defense, Chicago has been lacking at the position when it comes to depth. 2020 fifth-round pick Kindle Vildor was benched in favor of Burns earlier this season, and neither one has played well. Burns has allowed opposing quarterbacks a passer rating of 117.6, while Vildor let QBs net a 136.7 rating against him.

“That’s always a tough call,” Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai said about benching Vildor in favor of Burns, per The Chicago Sun-Times. “And that’s part of our jobs, to find that balance of taking lumps, and we’ve been pretty balanced in terms of that. He’s flashed in a positive way at some points throughout the season. It’s nothing against him. It’s kind of what we felt was a necessary change as a unit — and it’s not a permanent change.”

Now, it’s looking like Vildor will be back in the starting lineup, at least for a game or two.

Behind them, Duke Shelley is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury and Xavier Crawford left Chicago’s Week 14 loss to the Green Bay Packers with concussion symptoms, so things are beyond thin for the Bears at corner right now. Look for them to sign a player or two off the streets in the remaining four weeks, and look for rookie CB Thomas Graham, who has spent the entire season on the practice squad, to get his first NFL snaps.