Hub Arkush: There are depth issues elsewhere, but Bears are really stacked at safety

There are not many teams that can boast of having two safeties that have been Pro Bowlers, but the Bears are one of the lucky few with Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gipson.

And the embarrassment of riches doesn’t stop there.

Deon Bush is arguably as good a No. 3 safety as you’ll find in the league, and while all primarily special teams demons, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Jordan Lucas and Marqui Christian are all veterans at the position as well.

Add free agent and converted cornerback Teez Tabor, a former second-round draft choice, and the competition is fierce for what would normally be four or at most five roster spots.

It’s not a stretch to say safety is the deepest position on the Bears roster.

It’s possible this is no coincidence as rookie defensive coordinator Sean Desai was the team’s safeties coach the last two seasons, and his predecessor, Chuck Pagano, was also a safeties coach before becoming a defensive coordinator and head coach.

There is, however, no battle for the starting spots. They will belong to Jackson and Gipson, and one of the biggest questions of the entire offseason has been whether or not Jackson can reclaim his All-Pro form after a disappointing 2020 season.

He expects his former position coach now running the show to have a big impact.

“Just putting us in the right position, Sean, he’s been around for a while, and him as my safeties coach and now as our defensive coordinator, just certain things that he does, you know, to help us play to our strengths,” Jackson said. “That’s one thing he’s always been good at.

“He was here with (former defensive coordinator) Vic (Fangio), so he’s got that same kind of feel. ... Just having a guy like Sean, he knows every position on the field on defense, and he knows all our strengths, all our weaknesses, and he knows the positions to put us in to make plays.”

Jackson also expects to get a lift from having the same partner next to him for the first time since Adrian Amos left.

“Oh, man, it feels good. People don’t know how big of a deal that is,” Jackson said of playing next to Gipson again this season. “It’s huge because sometimes you come in with new guys — guys not used to playing this; not used to playing that, so you’ve got to build that chemistry all over again — see what he’s like, what he doesn’t like.

“Me and Gip, we go off each other; we’ve already got the fit to each other, with the disguise purposes or when it’s time for us to pass something off.”

They’re even singing from the same hymnbook right now.

“You just have an understanding,” Gipson said of working with Jackson. “Disguise, pre-snap, just ball, just life. Obviously, locker next to him for a whole year and being able to just understand him as a person. You get to know him even more as a player this year.

“It’s not like we missed a beat. We sit next to each other in the meeting room, we lock in next to each other. I’ve said it time and time again, I think he’s one of the best safeties in the league, most athletic.”

Bush appears locked in at No. 3, but it’s hard to know which others among Houston-Carson, Lucas, Christian and Tabor survive the final cut.

That’s where Bears special teams coordinator Chris Tabor comes in.

With two of the league’s best gunners in Cordarrelle Patterson and Sherrick McManis gone, it’s where they’ll have to make their marks.

While the least known, Teez Tabor is probably the best defensive back of the four, but Lucas and Christian were originally signed primarily due to their special teams prowess and Houston-Carson has the benefit of familiarity in his sixth season with the team, and he, Bush and Tabor have also all played nickel at well.

It would be unusual for a club to carry six safeties, but with the Bears’ needs on special teams and the quality of the competition, it appears a real possibility, and it would still leave one the odd man out.