The Bears have added some veteran depth in their secondary, signing cornerback Tracy Porter to a one-year contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). Porter became a free agent last month after being released by Washington.
Porter, 28, was a full-time starter at cornerback for the Raiders in 2013, and signed a two-year, $6MM deal in free agency last year with Washington, but saw his role reduced significantly in 2014. Before he landed on the injured reserve list in November, ending his season, Porter only played 89 snaps for Washington, finding himself buried on the depth chart behind Bashaud Breeland, E.J. Biggers, David Amerson, and others for a good chunk of 2014.
While ’14 wasn’t a good year for Porter, he has accumulated plenty of experience since entering the NFL as a second-round pick in 2008, spending time with the Saints and Broncos before heading to Oakland and Washington. For his career, he has appeared in 68 regular season contests (60 starts), totaling 287 tackles, 10 interceptions, and 54 passes defended.
Porter, who was in New Orleans back when new Bears GM Ryan Pace was in the Saints’ front office, will join a group of cornerbacks in Chicago that includes Kyle Fuller, Tim Jennings, Demontre Hurst, and fellow free agent signee Alan Ball, among others.