One day after adding defensive ends Ray McDonald and Jarvis Jenkins, the Bears on Wednesday again bolstered their defense by signing linebacker Mason Foster to a one-year contract.
Foster, who turned 26 on March 1, spent his first four seasons with the Buccaneers after being selected by Tampa Bay in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Washington.
Mason Foster spent his first four NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Appearing in 57 games with 54 starts for the Buccaneers, Foster recorded 341 tackles, six sacks, 26 tackles-for-loss, five interceptions, 12 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. He returned two of his five picks for touchdowns.
Foster ranked second on Tampa Bay in tackles in each of his first three seasons and was fifth last year when he played in a career-low 10 games.
Signing Foster after the first initial wave of free agency could benefit the Bears for more than just monetary reasons.
“These guys who maybe didn’t get the huge contracts in free agency, my experience is they have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder,” coach John Fox said Wednesday at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix. “They’ve got something to prove. So he’ll get a chance to prove that. We’re building some competition at the linebacker position. So I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Until Fox sees Foster on the practice field, it’s tough for the coach to speculate where he fits best in the Bears’ new 3-4 defense.
“It’s hard to say,” Fox said. “I’ve never watched him practice with us or in our scheme. But I’m looking forward to watching him compete and seeing what he can do for the Chicago Bears.”