Kyle Fuller could receive franchise tag from Chicago Bears

One beat reporter believes the Chicago Bears might just put a franchise or transition tag on Kyle Fuller to keep him from hitting free agency after all.

For those of you with visions of the Fuller Brothers playing alongside each other in the Kansas City Chiefs secondary, we have a bit of bad news. One beat reporter, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, isn’t quite sure the elder brother, Kyle Fuller, will hit free agency as expected.

In a recent Q&A, Biggs said there was a “good chance” the Bears would resort to using the tagging system to keep Fuller from leaving (or to at least ensure some compensation for his loss). He writes:

"I certainly think there is a good chance the franchise tag or transition tag is in play for Fuller before the March 6 deadline, and it’s possible Pace sheds a little light on that possibility later this week from the scouting combine."

Fuller, who is only 26, turned in a strong final year of his rookie contract with 68 total tackles, 22 passes defended and 2 interceptions. He also, however, missed the entirely of the 2016 regular season recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. Whoever signs him for the long-term, Bears or otherwise, will have to take into account his contract year performance and discern what they believe about his production moving forward.

The Chiefs recently traded for Kyle’s younger brother Kendall in the Alex Smith trade that sent the Chief former quarterback to the Washington Redskins. The younger brother broke out in 2017 with a very strong season, largely out of the slot corner position. Teaming him with his older brother would be a nice bounce back from losing Marcus Peters in a recent deal with the L.A. Rams.