Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2017 11:25:39 GMT -6
Kyle Fuller ‘resurrected his career,’ but will it continue with Bears?
Colleen KaneColleen KaneContact ReporterChicago Tribune
Link: www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-kyle-fuller-contract-20171223-story.html
Sometime between when Kyle Fuller’s Bears career looked like it was over and when it gasped new life, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio invited his cornerback for a round of golf.
After Fuller missed 2016 with a knee injury, the Bears declined the fifth-year option on his contract for 2018. The message was clear: They didn’t believe they could count on their first-round draft pick from 2014, and his place at Halas Hall was in question. Fangio said they also spoke on several “informal occasions” to deliver expectations so Fuller arrived for organized team activities healthy and ready to compete.
So last spring’s round at the Club at Strawberry Creek was a bit of extra bonding between the two men who enjoy golf — and who naturally kept score. Fuller admitted Fangio won, using a long putt to help pull it off.
“Like a lot of us that play half the year, he can be a little erratic,” Fangio said. “But he has a good game, and I’ll bet he’ll be a single-digit handicap at some point.”
Fangio can be counted on for such frank assessments of his players.
That quality shed light last year on the Bears’ concern with Fuller’s lengthy recovery from the knee injury, but it also lends weight to his evaluation of Fuller’s comeback this year.
With two games to go before his rookie contract expires, including Sunday’s home finale at Soldier Field against the Browns, Fuller, 25, has recorded a career-high 16 pass breakups and 66 tackles.
“He has helped resurrect his career,” Fangio said. “He has been available, hasn’t had any injury issues, has been out there competing week to week. The best way to say it is he’s rejuvenated and playing well.
“Compared to last year, (when) you didn’t see anything, (it’s different). I see a more mature player, a player who wants challenges, is willing to accept challenges and is expecting more out of himself.”
Fuller’s latest installment in a mixed body of work has given the Bears something to consider.
Point of return
After wide receiver and edge rusher, cornerback will be among the Bears’ biggest needs this offseason.
Prince Amukamara, who signed a one-year deal in the spring, heads into free agency with Fuller. Marcus Cooper has no more guaranteed money on a three-year contract he signed in March. He has played sparingly on defense since Amukamara returned from an early-season ankle injury and took over as starter when Cooper suffered back spasms in Week 5.
That makes Fuller’s 2017 re-emergence intriguing, and general manager Ryan Pace offered a positive assessment on a pregame radio show last week.
“We couldn’t be prouder of the way he has responded this year,” Pace said. “It really started with strong work in the offseason, and that has carried him into a productive regular season. He’s playing physical. He’s making plays on the ball.”
Whether that appreciation translates to a new contract with the Bears remains to be seen and would be complicated by any coaching changes the team starts to make Jan. 1. Fuller says he’s interested in a return.
“For sure, I would say so,” Fuller said. “I’m just happy to be here, so definitely.”
At this point last year, such an attitude wasn’t a given.
Fuller opted this week not to play up the chip-on-his-shoulder angle that many players take to explain their motivations, even though his could be a sizable chip.
Reserved and careful when talking about his experiences over the last 1½ years, he kept the focus on himself rather than the coaches who questioned his inability to get on the field or the front office that decided not to pick up his option.
“It was tough, but it’s something I had to go through to get where I am now,” Fuller said. “The toughest part was not being able to perform.”
Before what would have been his third season in 2016, Fuller experienced knee pain during training camp, and coaches and management saw him dragging his leg a bit in practices. In mid-August, he underwent arthroscopic surgery that Bears coach John Fox said left him “week to week.” But the weeks piled up, and Fangio indicated last December that Fuller didn’t return in 2016 only because he didn’t feel ready.
“Anytime a guy’s hurt, there are three stages to getting back to the field,” Fangio said then. “One is you have to get medical clearance. Two, the player has to say he’s ready to go and feels confident and he’s champing at the bit to play. And then the coaches get involved and see if he’s better than what the other choices are and if he really is back to being able to play. A has happened. B hasn’t. So C is a non-issue.”
Fuller said this week “it just never got to a point of return” and added he didn’t take offense to the notion he didn’t want to come back.
“Nah,” Fuller said. “I mean, I knew that wasn’t the case.”
Fuller said his teammates knew it, too, but the year off resulted in the Bears considering other options with the Amukamara and Cooper signings. Any contributions from Fuller would be a bonus.
“I didn’t look into it too much,” Fuller said. “At that point, I was really just focusing on getting myself back to the player I knew I could be and letting everything else take care of itself.”
Bears players know Fangio favors straightforward communications without being combative. That’s surely part of what prompted Fuller to describe him as “down to earth.” But the events of the year are what made the Fangio-Fuller golf outing notable, even if it was just a casual trip that included a mid-round appearance by offensive lineman Bradley Sowell, regarded as among the Bears’ best golfers.
“It wasn’t my best day, but it is what is,” Fuller said. “(Fangio) was definitely happy about (the win), so I’ll let him have it. I’ll get him back.”
That’s the competitive flair the Bears want to see.
‘On a mission’
Fuller listed the games.
Steelers. Buccaneers. First Lions game. Second Packers game.
Each included a play from this season that lingers with Fuller — a missed opportunity for an interception.
“I just have to tell myself to keep putting myself in position,” he said.
After former Bears general manager Phil Emery selected Fuller with the No. 14 overall pick in 2014, Fuller burst into the NFL with three interceptions in his first three games. Since then he has four interceptions in 43 games, including his first of the 2017 season in Week 12 against the 49ers.
One factor in the ups and downs of Fuller’s career is the change in his second year to a new system under Pace, Fox and Fangio. Fuller was benched briefly in 2015 as he struggled while adjusting to more man-to-man coverage in Fangio’s scheme. Fangio said he naturally has grown more comfortable in his system with more experience, but it’s fair to wonder what it would mean for Fuller if Fangio is coaching elsewhere next year and the Bears change schemes again.
Fuller has had plenty of opportunities for interceptions as teams continue to target him this season. Fangio said he has seen that Fuller has good hands in practice, but he just hasn’t been able to finish. Perhaps Fuller will be able to add to his total Sunday against Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer, who has thrown 19 interceptions this year.
“He can catch,” Fangio said. “He has to get the tide turned a little. He did a few weeks ago. I bet the next time he gets his hands on one, he’ll pull it in.”
Fuller has had some big performances this year despite the lack of interceptions.
He deflected a Joe Flacco pass that resulted in Adrian Amos’ 90-yard pick-six in an Oct. 15 overtime victory over the Ravens. On Dec. 10, he was instrumental in shutting down the Bengals passing game and wide receiver A.J. Green in a 33-7 victory. And he recorded his lone interception when he ripped the ball from 49ers wide receiver Louis Murphy on Dec. 3.
Any team interested in signing him will have to weigh those moments against some of his worst this season, including his involvement in three of the Packers’ four biggest plays in a 23-16 loss Nov. 12. He was in coverage during Brett Hundley’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams and 42-yard pass to Adams, and he missed a tackle that allowed Randall Cobb to break free for a 38-yard reception. Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph also beat Fuller in the end zone for a touchdown in the Bears’ Monday night loss.
Fox has said more than once Fuller’s preparation this year has been key to his reboot, starting in the offseason and extending to daily “maintenance” that has allowed him to stay healthy. The Bears haven’t listed him on the injury report this season.
“It was really just dialing in, focusing on what it takes, week in, week out consistently throughout the year, the preparation for games, the season, everything like that,” Fuller said. “I guess it’s one of those things that you learn from previous years.”
Amukamara, who has his own free agency to ponder, said Fuller has been “laser-focused and not even worried” about his contract situation. Fuller, who is one of four brothers who have played in the NFL, said as much, noting he will speak with his family, including oldest brother Vincent, about how to handle free agency when it arrives.
“This year it just seems like he has been on a mission,” Amukamara said. “I don’t think this year is a fluke. Kyle has always had that in him; it just has been progressively showing. His best years are yet to come. He’s going to be even greater next year.”
Fuller will have a chance to prove his 2017 comeback season isn’t a fluke and he can continue his upward trend. But after an uneven first four years, he and the Bears must decide if Chicago still is the place to make that happen.
ckane@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @chitribkane
Colleen KaneColleen KaneContact ReporterChicago Tribune
Link: www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-kyle-fuller-contract-20171223-story.html
Sometime between when Kyle Fuller’s Bears career looked like it was over and when it gasped new life, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio invited his cornerback for a round of golf.
After Fuller missed 2016 with a knee injury, the Bears declined the fifth-year option on his contract for 2018. The message was clear: They didn’t believe they could count on their first-round draft pick from 2014, and his place at Halas Hall was in question. Fangio said they also spoke on several “informal occasions” to deliver expectations so Fuller arrived for organized team activities healthy and ready to compete.
So last spring’s round at the Club at Strawberry Creek was a bit of extra bonding between the two men who enjoy golf — and who naturally kept score. Fuller admitted Fangio won, using a long putt to help pull it off.
“Like a lot of us that play half the year, he can be a little erratic,” Fangio said. “But he has a good game, and I’ll bet he’ll be a single-digit handicap at some point.”
Fangio can be counted on for such frank assessments of his players.
That quality shed light last year on the Bears’ concern with Fuller’s lengthy recovery from the knee injury, but it also lends weight to his evaluation of Fuller’s comeback this year.
With two games to go before his rookie contract expires, including Sunday’s home finale at Soldier Field against the Browns, Fuller, 25, has recorded a career-high 16 pass breakups and 66 tackles.
“He has helped resurrect his career,” Fangio said. “He has been available, hasn’t had any injury issues, has been out there competing week to week. The best way to say it is he’s rejuvenated and playing well.
“Compared to last year, (when) you didn’t see anything, (it’s different). I see a more mature player, a player who wants challenges, is willing to accept challenges and is expecting more out of himself.”
Fuller’s latest installment in a mixed body of work has given the Bears something to consider.
Point of return
After wide receiver and edge rusher, cornerback will be among the Bears’ biggest needs this offseason.
Prince Amukamara, who signed a one-year deal in the spring, heads into free agency with Fuller. Marcus Cooper has no more guaranteed money on a three-year contract he signed in March. He has played sparingly on defense since Amukamara returned from an early-season ankle injury and took over as starter when Cooper suffered back spasms in Week 5.
That makes Fuller’s 2017 re-emergence intriguing, and general manager Ryan Pace offered a positive assessment on a pregame radio show last week.
“We couldn’t be prouder of the way he has responded this year,” Pace said. “It really started with strong work in the offseason, and that has carried him into a productive regular season. He’s playing physical. He’s making plays on the ball.”
Whether that appreciation translates to a new contract with the Bears remains to be seen and would be complicated by any coaching changes the team starts to make Jan. 1. Fuller says he’s interested in a return.
“For sure, I would say so,” Fuller said. “I’m just happy to be here, so definitely.”
At this point last year, such an attitude wasn’t a given.
Fuller opted this week not to play up the chip-on-his-shoulder angle that many players take to explain their motivations, even though his could be a sizable chip.
Reserved and careful when talking about his experiences over the last 1½ years, he kept the focus on himself rather than the coaches who questioned his inability to get on the field or the front office that decided not to pick up his option.
“It was tough, but it’s something I had to go through to get where I am now,” Fuller said. “The toughest part was not being able to perform.”
Before what would have been his third season in 2016, Fuller experienced knee pain during training camp, and coaches and management saw him dragging his leg a bit in practices. In mid-August, he underwent arthroscopic surgery that Bears coach John Fox said left him “week to week.” But the weeks piled up, and Fangio indicated last December that Fuller didn’t return in 2016 only because he didn’t feel ready.
“Anytime a guy’s hurt, there are three stages to getting back to the field,” Fangio said then. “One is you have to get medical clearance. Two, the player has to say he’s ready to go and feels confident and he’s champing at the bit to play. And then the coaches get involved and see if he’s better than what the other choices are and if he really is back to being able to play. A has happened. B hasn’t. So C is a non-issue.”
Fuller said this week “it just never got to a point of return” and added he didn’t take offense to the notion he didn’t want to come back.
“Nah,” Fuller said. “I mean, I knew that wasn’t the case.”
Fuller said his teammates knew it, too, but the year off resulted in the Bears considering other options with the Amukamara and Cooper signings. Any contributions from Fuller would be a bonus.
“I didn’t look into it too much,” Fuller said. “At that point, I was really just focusing on getting myself back to the player I knew I could be and letting everything else take care of itself.”
Bears players know Fangio favors straightforward communications without being combative. That’s surely part of what prompted Fuller to describe him as “down to earth.” But the events of the year are what made the Fangio-Fuller golf outing notable, even if it was just a casual trip that included a mid-round appearance by offensive lineman Bradley Sowell, regarded as among the Bears’ best golfers.
“It wasn’t my best day, but it is what is,” Fuller said. “(Fangio) was definitely happy about (the win), so I’ll let him have it. I’ll get him back.”
That’s the competitive flair the Bears want to see.
‘On a mission’
Fuller listed the games.
Steelers. Buccaneers. First Lions game. Second Packers game.
Each included a play from this season that lingers with Fuller — a missed opportunity for an interception.
“I just have to tell myself to keep putting myself in position,” he said.
After former Bears general manager Phil Emery selected Fuller with the No. 14 overall pick in 2014, Fuller burst into the NFL with three interceptions in his first three games. Since then he has four interceptions in 43 games, including his first of the 2017 season in Week 12 against the 49ers.
One factor in the ups and downs of Fuller’s career is the change in his second year to a new system under Pace, Fox and Fangio. Fuller was benched briefly in 2015 as he struggled while adjusting to more man-to-man coverage in Fangio’s scheme. Fangio said he naturally has grown more comfortable in his system with more experience, but it’s fair to wonder what it would mean for Fuller if Fangio is coaching elsewhere next year and the Bears change schemes again.
Fuller has had plenty of opportunities for interceptions as teams continue to target him this season. Fangio said he has seen that Fuller has good hands in practice, but he just hasn’t been able to finish. Perhaps Fuller will be able to add to his total Sunday against Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer, who has thrown 19 interceptions this year.
“He can catch,” Fangio said. “He has to get the tide turned a little. He did a few weeks ago. I bet the next time he gets his hands on one, he’ll pull it in.”
Fuller has had some big performances this year despite the lack of interceptions.
He deflected a Joe Flacco pass that resulted in Adrian Amos’ 90-yard pick-six in an Oct. 15 overtime victory over the Ravens. On Dec. 10, he was instrumental in shutting down the Bengals passing game and wide receiver A.J. Green in a 33-7 victory. And he recorded his lone interception when he ripped the ball from 49ers wide receiver Louis Murphy on Dec. 3.
Any team interested in signing him will have to weigh those moments against some of his worst this season, including his involvement in three of the Packers’ four biggest plays in a 23-16 loss Nov. 12. He was in coverage during Brett Hundley’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams and 42-yard pass to Adams, and he missed a tackle that allowed Randall Cobb to break free for a 38-yard reception. Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph also beat Fuller in the end zone for a touchdown in the Bears’ Monday night loss.
Fox has said more than once Fuller’s preparation this year has been key to his reboot, starting in the offseason and extending to daily “maintenance” that has allowed him to stay healthy. The Bears haven’t listed him on the injury report this season.
“It was really just dialing in, focusing on what it takes, week in, week out consistently throughout the year, the preparation for games, the season, everything like that,” Fuller said. “I guess it’s one of those things that you learn from previous years.”
Amukamara, who has his own free agency to ponder, said Fuller has been “laser-focused and not even worried” about his contract situation. Fuller, who is one of four brothers who have played in the NFL, said as much, noting he will speak with his family, including oldest brother Vincent, about how to handle free agency when it arrives.
“This year it just seems like he has been on a mission,” Amukamara said. “I don’t think this year is a fluke. Kyle has always had that in him; it just has been progressively showing. His best years are yet to come. He’s going to be even greater next year.”
Fuller will have a chance to prove his 2017 comeback season isn’t a fluke and he can continue his upward trend. But after an uneven first four years, he and the Bears must decide if Chicago still is the place to make that happen.
ckane@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @chitribkane