Whispers not rattling Bears' Nathan Vasher
February 23
Chicago Tribune
"Nathan Vasher has heard the whispers. He is fully aware of the comments made in print.
The Bears are not pleased with how the former Pro Bowl cornerback regressed after signing a five-year extension in 2007 that included $14 million guaranteed. His decline has fueled speculation that Vasher might not be in the Bears' future.
"I don't feel like I'm above the rumors or speculation, just like any other player this off-season," Vasher said by phone. "But I'm still here. Nobody has told me anything."
Hints dropped by general manager Jerry Angelo over the weekend suggest Vasher has little margin for error.
"I don't know where he is now," Angelo said at the NFL scouting combine. "He's got to re-establish himself. He's competing to start. He's got to take his game to another level.
"I feel he can. I didn't see anything, physically speaking, that would tell me that he can't. When we gave him his contract extension ... he needs to be a better player."
Vasher has played in just 12 of 32 games since signing the extension. Groin and arm injuries have truncated his last two seasons. He recorded two interceptions in those 12 games after starting his career with 16 in three seasons.
The Bears want a solid starter opposite Charles Tillman and are not ready to hand the job to Vasher or Corey Graham. Prospects such as Illinois' Vontae Davis and Oregon's Jairus Byrd, the son of Bears assistant defensive backs coach Gill Byrd, make cornerback a tempting option in the first three rounds of the draft.
But Vasher contends injury has been his only obstacle, and he is fully healthy now.
"Definitely I feel I am a starter," he said. "I've shown the talent. The proof is out there. I feel like people around the league know that. And I've never kept myself from feeling like that.""
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