The Chicago Bears are signing former Houston Texans wide receiver Isaiah Coulter after his recent tryout, the team announced late on August 22. They also placed linebacker Austin Calitro on the injured reserve list after he sustained a hamstring injury in Chicago’s 41-15 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the team’s second preseason game.
That very bad and lopsided loss shined a glaring light on what seems to be one of the Bears’ biggest issues heading into the 2021 NFL season: special teams — and that’s likely the primary role Coulter may fill.
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Bears Lost Both Top Returners From Last Season
The Bears were wretched on both offensive and defensive special teams in the loss to Buffalo, allowing a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown, with the Bills averaging just under 30 yards per punt return. Not good.
Not only that, but Chicago has yet to fill punt returner Tarik Cohen’s shoes. Rookie Khalil Herbert has been fielding the bulk of the kickoffs this preseason, taking over for Cordarrelle Patterson in that capacity, and his fellow rookie, wideout Dazz Newsome, has run back a few punts.
Newsome has been less impressive, and thus, it looks like Coulter will likely be returning punts, and he might also be utilized on defensive special teams in the gunner role, particularly considering his speed. Patterson was excellent in that role in his two years in Chicago, and with Sherrick McManis, who was also a special teams standout, also gone, Chicago has a need for speed both in the return game and at gunner. Enter Coulter, who could provide both.
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Isaiah Coulter: Background, Injury History & College Stats
In college at Rhode Island, Coulter played minimally as a freshman before logging 11 games as a sophomore, catching 42 passes for 604 yards and three touchdowns in 2018. The following season, he broke out, netting 72 receptions for 1,039 yards and eight scores in 12 games. He chose to forgo his senior year, and he entered the 2020 NFL draft, where the Houston Texans selected him in the fifth round.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Coulter ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine in 2020, which was the tenth-fastest time amongst all wide receivers in attendance. That speed could help him fill a need on special teams for the Bears.
Coulter didn’t see the field much at all his rookie season. A neck injury landed him on IR, and he played in just one game, against the Bears Week 11. He didn’t register any stats.
Bears head coach Matt Nagy certainly likes to keep his locker room stocked with speedy play-makers, and since Coulter just worked out for the team, Nagy and company must have liked what they saw. We’ll see what kind of role Coulter will ultimately play, and whether he can carve out a niche on the team before 53-man rosters are finalized on August 31.
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