Stock Up, Stock Down After Chicago Bears' 2nd Preseason Game
The Chicago Bears weren't able to match the hype of their preseason debut on Saturday night.
Even a 24-23 win on the road against the Arizona Cardinals couldn't grab headlines the way Mitchell Trubisky's debut a week prior did, even though that came in a loss.
So goes the preseason—the end result in the win-loss column doesn't matter much compared to the performances; it's a logic that applies to coaching staffs trying to figure out final rosters and fans watching on and doing the same.
Some, let's call them odd, decisions by the Bears on Saturday night helped play a part in this dynamic. It wasn't all bad, though, especially for some guys involved in positional battles, so let's take a look at a stock update after the win.
Stock Up: Kyle Fuller
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What an odd week and change it has been for Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller.
After watching the team bring on Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper over the offseason, Fuller appeared in trade rumors last week that hinted the Bears could look to move him rather than outright cut him, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
Fuller must have heard the whispers or simply continued to get his legs back under him because he looked much better on Saturday against the Cardinals.
As Jake Perper of Bears Backer noted, head coach John Fox even had praise for him after the game: "I thought he did really well. How he matched up in one-on-one situations, I was impressed."
It's a small step in the right direction for Fuller. Even after turning down his fifth-year option, Chicago would much rather have the 25-year-old in a fight for starting corner duties than figuring out how to get value from his departure. It seems we are inching toward the former.
Stock Down: Roberto Aguayo
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That was fast.
There was a slight hope that former Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker and second-round pick Roberto Aguayo could rediscover his form upon arrival with the Bears and give the team a quality competition at the spot.
However, the 23-year-old whiffed his only attempt on Saturday night.
Connor Barth, on the other hand, hit his lone attempt from 42 yards away and converted both of his extra points to Aguayo's one.
It's hard to know if the Bears will throw in the towel on the experiment right away. The good news? The Aguayo signing was a low-risk move in the first place. It was smart to take the chance, though any stock gained has already been lost.
Stock Up: Jonathan Bullard
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It was hard to miss No. 90 in the desert.
Jonathan Bullard had a quiet rookie season while losing snaps to veterans such as Mitch Unrein, though Chicago's willingness to skip out on the position as high as the first round in last year's draft silently spoke to the confidence that he would develop into a quality starter.
Bears fans might have seen part of the transformation against the Cardinals.
The Athletic's Dan Durkin said the 23-year-old "dominated in the first half," and there isn't a better way to put it—Bullard collapsed multiple pockets while rushing from a few different spots.
We're still some way from calling Bullard an every-down starter, but this seems like the sophomore boost the Bears seemed to expect from a prospect who needed to bulk up and wrap his mind around the game.
If Saturday's Bullard shows up consistently, the Bears have quite the line with him next to Eddie Goldman and Akiem Hicks in base situations.
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Stock Down: Hroniss Grasu
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After the season-ending injury suffered by Eric Kush, the Bears could use a guy like Hroniss Grasu stepping up to act as key depth.
Grasu, of course, missed last year and watched as Cody Whitehair turned into one of the league's breakout rookie stars thanks to his unexpected play at center.
Normally a player getting promoted to a starting spot would register as a stock-boosting moment. Grasu got the nod against the Cardinals, bumping Whitehair to left guard while the team waits for Kyle Long to get healthy.
The problem, as Aaron Leming of Bear Report and others echoed, though, was Grasu simply having a noticeably hard time in most phases of the game. The running game wasn't getting a ton of push, and Grasu seemed to be going backward faster than expected while protecting.
With Kush gone, sliding Whitehair to guard until Long gets back makes sense—but only if Grasu can play with consistency.
Stock Up: Tarik Cohen
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Get used to seeing Tarik Cohen on the field for the Bears.
Likely as general manager Ryan Pace had envisioned, the fact Cohen is 5'6" or hails from North Carolina A&T doesn't matter much once he hits the field.
Cohen is blinding fast—in a straight line or when changing directions, which is about what one would expect for a guy nicknamed "The Human Joystick."
Arizona learned firsthand about this ability Saturday as Cohen darted and weaved his way to 77 yards on all of 11 carries. Even better for the Bears, he did some of his damage with the first team after Jordan Howard missed the game with an eye injury.
While far from an every-down back, Cohen is the ideal change-of-pace presence behind Howard and a threat to score from anywhere on the field.
His stock continues to undergo a meteoric rise, while guys such as Jeremy Langford and Ka'Deem Carey go the opposite direction.
Stock Down: Mitchell Trubisky
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Can the Bears make it any clearer they want Mike Glennon to start over Trubisky next season?
Saturday, Trubisky followed up his superb rookie debut with a solid performance, going 6-of-8 for 60 yards and a score. Said score was a smooth-looking rollout to his Benny Cunningham.
The problem? Trubisky found himself losing some snaps to Mark Sanchez.
Granted, the wishful-thinking part of this suggests the team just wanted to see more from Sanchez. But it still detracts from the idea the Bears should be forcing Glennon and Trubisky to compete for the starting job so they stand the best chance at winning games next year.
Meanwhile, after tossing an interception in his first drive as a member of the Bears a week ago, Glennon had a ho-hum performance in Arizona, going 13-of-18 for 89 yards with a touchdown and an interception, the pick coming in the red zone.
Trubisky won't stop flashing his major upside every time he takes the field. But the Bears, at least so far, seem intent on sticking to the plan where he sits as a rookie regardless of how Glennon looks.
Stock Up: Deonte Thompson
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Deonte Thompson hasn't received a ton of coverage this summer and into the preseason.
That makes sense. At wideout, Chicago added Kendall Wright, Victor Cruz and Markus Wheaton. Cameron Meredith is a potential breakout star. The Kevin White saga is...odd. Thompson, on the other hand, serves as a returner and set a career-high in catches a year ago—with 22.
The Bears brought back Thompson anyway this past March, though it was fair to wonder if someone such as Josh Bellamy or Daniel Braverman could push him off the roster, especially with new faces like Cohen and Eddie Jackson boasting plenty of ability as returners.
Then Thompson took a missed field goal back 109 yards for a touchdown against the Cardinals.
The 28-year-old is no Devin Hester, but Bears fans likely saw a flash of it there. Splash plays can make all the difference for a player's roster chances in the preseason—and Thompson just made the biggest possible wave.
All contract information courtesy of Spotrac unless otherwise specified. Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
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