The Chicago Bears are Nick McCloud’s fourth team in five NFL seasons, and the former undrafted free agent finds himself thrust into an unexpected starting role. McCloud filled in for Kyler Gordon in the Bears’ regular-season opener and will likely do so again in Week 2.
The Bears ruled Gordon, who inked a $40 million extension this offseason, out for their road opener against the Detroit Lions due to a hamstring injury.
That puts McCloud in line to reprise a role he is still learning.
Bears’ Nick McCloud Opens Up About Critical Role as Lions Game Looms
Nick McCloud Still Learning on the Job Amid Bears’ Injury Issue
McCloud, 27, will likely make his second start with the Bears, and the 18th of his career, on Sunday against the Lions. Moreover, McCloud will be gaining valuable experience, since he is still relatively new to the slot corner role.
Entering this season, McCloud had played no more than 151 snaps inside (2022) in a single season, per Pro Football Focus.
McCloud logged 28 snaps at nickelback in Week 1, a 476-snap pace across 17 games.
“Last year was my first year of kind of playing nickel, really,” McCloud told Clocker Sports before practice on Thursday. “I just try to go out there and ball wherever I’m at, you know what I’m saying? Corner, nickel, wherever.”
He has flashed playmaking ability in the past, recording 3 forced fumbles, 3 recoveries, 7 pass deflections, and 1 interception with the New York Giants in 2023.
McCloud recorded 1.5 sacks in 2022, highlighting his versatility from the defensive backfield.
PFF charged him with allowing one catch for 2 yards on two targets against the Minnesota Vikings on “Monday Night Football” in Week 1, who were led by a first-year starting quarterback in J.J. McCarthy.
Bears Facing More Experienced QB in Week 2
McCloud and the Bears will face a veteran QB in Jared Goff against the Lions, and Chicago will have CB Jaylon Johnson back in the lineup, presumably opposite Tyrique Stevenson.
McCloud is well-acclimated to the scheme, which is good since he could see a lot of looks.
“It’s been good,” McCloud told Clocker Sports about his Bears tenure so far. “I feel like I’ve been pretty acclimated with the guy since OTAs. Just going out there, having the first official game with them, it was fun. We gotta finish, but it was fun.”
It was fun until it wasn’t, as the Bears squandered an 11-point lead and lost 27-24, hence McCloud’s call to “finish.”
His approach fits with what the Bears want, and is part of why he has earned their trust.
“That’s the biggest thing, just having the trust of my teammates, and the coaches, and everybody in the building,” McCloud told Clocker Sports. “I can’t explain how much it means to me that they trust me to go out there and play big.”
Nick McCloud Taking Advantage of Resources
He is not out there flying blind, though. McCloud has a wealth of resources to draw from, including Gordon, and he says they all make good use of one another in that regard.
“I think we all kind of piggyback off each other in the room, whether it’s corners to corners, nickels and nickels, corners to nickels, nickel to the corner,” McCloud told Clocker Sports. “I feel like we all do a good job of trying to help each other out with things. We may see it in the film room or throughout the game.”
He also has a former Pro Bowl player in defensive backs coach Al Harris and his “ball mindset.”
“Just whatever we can do to get the ball and go score with the ball, you know what I’m saying?” McCloud told Clocker Sports when asked what Harris brings to the group. “So, I feel like that’s the biggest thing he brings in terms of other places I’ve been, more of a ball mindset.”
It is not yet official that McCloud will draw the start on Sunday. Josh Blackwell is a special teamer, but he also has experience inside. Johnson’s return likely pushes the 6-foot-4 Nahshon Wright, an ill-fit on the inside, to the bench.
Gordon has a history of soft-tissue injuries, so caution could be in order.
However long McCloud is in the lineup for the Bears, he sounds ready to take full advantage and make the best of the situation. As he – and Wright, for that matter – has shown, a player’s number can be called upon at any time.