Bears Reportedly Plan to Target Stephon Gilmore in Free Agency

On the heels of the Buffalo Bills opting against using the franchise tag on cornerback Stephon Gilmore, he is reportedly expected to be pursued by the Chicago Bears.

According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, sources indicated that the Bears have interest in courting Gilmore in free agency.

The 26-year-old is coming off his first Pro Bowl season, as he registered 48 tackles and a career-high five interceptions in 2016.

Despite that, he struggled at times, as evidenced by his 60.3 percent completion rate and 15.6 yards per catch allowed, according to Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus.

While Gilmore has some deficiencies, Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News noted that he is looking for $15 million per year in the same vein as Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman.

The Bears were seventh in the NFL last season with 224.9 passing yards allowed per game, which ranked them just behind the Bills.

Chicago's starting cornerback duo of Kyle Fuller and Tracy Porter is solid, although it would benefit from adding one more established player to the mix.

Playing in a division that features top quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford, a deep secondary is of the utmost importance, and signing the former first-round pick out of South Carolina would help in that regard.