Baltimore Ravens cornerback Kyle Fuller (knee) tore his ACL and will miss the remainder of the 2022 NFL season. This is a concerning injury given the major struggles of the Baltimore secondary last season, especially since Marcus Peters still has not fully come back from his torn ACL. From a fantasy perspective, this will be a situation worth monitoring for the future of the Ravens defense, as Baltimore could become a favorable matchup for quarterbacks and wide receivers.
The Baltimore Ravens agreed to terms with free-agent cornerback Kyle Fuller on an undisclosed one-year deal on Tuesday. Fuller was originally a first-round pick (14th overall) by the Chicago Bears in 2014 out of Virginia Tech. He spent the first six seasons of his career with the Bears and was a Pro Bowler in 2018 and 2019 before joining the Denver Broncos last season. The 30-year-old struggled while in the slot in 2021 and finished with 51 tackles (40 solo), three tackles for loss and four passes defensed in 16 games (10 starts). Fuller will likely be the favorite to be Baltimore's third cornerback behind Marcus Peters and Marlon Humphrey, although he'll compete with youngsters Brandon Stephens, Jalyn Armour-Davis and Damarion Williams.
Broncos Expected To Make Strong Push For Kyle Fuller
The Denver Broncos are expected to make a strong push for free-agent cornerback Kyle Fuller once his release from the Chicago Bears is official, according to sources. Head coach Vic Fangio is familiar with Fuller when he coached him in Chicago. Although the Broncos already signed Ronald Darby in free agency, signing the 29-year-old Fuller would give Denver more flexibility in the secondary and would allow Bryce Callahan to play in the slot in 2021. The two-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro could also be traded before his release becomes official on Friday. In six seasons in the NFL, Fuller has 19 interceptions, including a league-leading seven in 2018. The Bears will save $11 million on the salary cap if he's released, but they would also eat $9 million in dead money with Fuller holding a $20 million salary cap number.
Chicago Matches Green Bay’s Offer Sheet for Kyle Fuller
Late on Friday, cornerback Kyle Fuller, who had been assigned the transition tag by Chicago, signed an offer sheet with the Green Bay Packers. Chicago quickly matched the offer and will retain Fuller on a long-term deal that will make Fuller one of the highest paid cornerbacks in the league. The deal is for four years and worth $56 million. There is only $18 million in guarantees, however the annual high cap hit may make long term retention difficult. A former first round draft pick, the 26 year old cornerback was impressive for Chicago last year and re-signing him was a priority for the Bears this offseason. Fuller and the Bears were having difficulty reaching a long-term deal, so Chicago applied the rarely utilized transition tag to Fuller. The transition tag is similar to a franchise tag. However, in exchange for paying a player less than the franchise tag, any other team can make an offer for the player. The tagging team still maintains the right to match any offer but is not compensated in draft picks if they fail to do so. Chicago applied the transition tag to Fuller, which would have resulted in a $13 million cap hit in 2018 as opposed to a roughly $15 million hit if they franchised him. They guessed that no one would make an offer, however their cornerback needy rivals, the Packers, called their bluff. Chicago will maintain Fuller going forward, but likely at a much higher salary than they had hoped for.
The Chicago Bears have applied the transition tag to cornerback Kyle Fuller, according to sources. The Bears can match any offer that comes in for Fuller. Chicago could have made it easier on themselves if they would've just picked up Fuller's fifth-year option in 2016, but Fuller missed that entire season before bouncing back in 2017 with 69 combined tackles and two interceptions. He's one of their best young players on defense.
There is a good chance the Chicago Bears place the franchise or transition tag on impending free-agent cornerback Kyle Fuller, in the opinion of the Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs. The Bears didn't pick up Fuller's fifth-year option after he disappointed in 2016, but he bounced back with a career-high 61 total tackles and two interceptions in 2017 and is one of the team's better young defenders.