The Bears have removed their new safety form the non-football injury list
Brad Biggs reported that the Bears Safety Dane Cruikshank, who was limited in the offseason program and began training camp on the Non-Football Injury list, was activated on Tuesday morning, hours before the team's first padded practice at Halas Hall.
Cruikshank is not on pace to be a starter in Week 1 as Eddie Jackson and rookie Jaquan Brisker are supposed to but he could be an important special teams piece for the Bears. He played at least 200 snaps on kicking downs in all three of his healthy seasons with the Titans. In 2021, he played 62 percent of the team's special teams plays.
Cruikshank, a fifth-round pick (152nd overall) for the Titans out of Arizona in 2018, served as the third safety for Tennessee last year. After playing predominantly on special teams his first three years, Cruikshank played 46% of the Titans' defensive snaps last season, registering a career-high 43 tackles while also forcing a fumble and a PBU (stats via Pro Football Reference).
A former fifth-round pick from Arizona, the 27-year-old Cruikshank signed a one-year deal with the Bears this offseason. He started four career games for the Titans, all in 2021, and has one career interception, one forced fumble, and 65 total tackles on his resume.
While we really like the talent and potential, some reporters surrounding the Bears are not of the same idea.
A few weeks ago, ESPN selected a potential cut candidate from all 32 NFL teams, and Cronin thinks it could be Cruikshank for Chicago.
The Bears also drafted safety Elijah Hicks in Round 7 and re-signed veteran backup DeAndre Houston-Carson, and Courtney Cronin of ESPN thinks there may be no room left for Cruikshank.
«Cruikshank was an addition during the second wave of free agency and was expected to fit in behind Eddie Jackson on the depth chart. With the addition of rookie Jaquan Brisker, who impressed the coaching staff with his versatility this spring, Cruikshank could be the odd man out if Chicago hangs on to four safeties, including DeAndre Houston-Carson and seventh-rounder Elijah Hicks,» Cronin noted on July 6.
With him being activated, he will have a shot to prove why he deserved to be on the roster come Week 1.
