Following the Chicago Bears' preseason finale win over the Tennessee Titans, head coach Ben Johnson came away feeling more comfortable with left tackle than safety, which isn't exactly comforting with the regular season less than two weeks away.
Safety was expected to be a strength for Chicago this season, but that was thrown into flux after free-agent Coby Bryant suffered a knee injury that required surgery and will keep him out from four to six months. That left the Bears scrambling to find a starter opposite first-round rookie Dillon Thieneman.
According to the Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs, that starting job will come down to new veteran additions Cam Lewis and Xavier Woods, who have both gotten starting looks during the summer. Other safeties
on the roster include Elijah Hicks and undrafted rookie Skyler Thomas.
Lewis started training camp at nickel cornerback with Kyler Gordon sidelined, but he switched to safety when Bryant went down. Amid other safety deficiencies, the Bears brought in Woods to add a veteran presence to the room with starting experience.
With Gordon on injured reserve and missing the first four games of the season, Chicago also has a decision to make at nickel. Biggs noted that it could very well come down to whether or not the Bears feel confident with fourth-round rookie Malik Muhammad at nickel. If not, they'd likely turn to Lewis to fill that void, which would free up Woods to start at safety.
There are a lot of questions left to be answered ahead of Chicago's Week 1 opener against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 13. And we might not know the answers until kickoff.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears insider shares latest on starting safety spot
