Injured cornerback Charles Tillman plans to play next season, and possibly another season after that.
The Chicago Bears’ defense has been much improved from last season, but they once again lost veteran cornerback Charles Tillman to a season-ending injury. He has been one of the NFL’s best playmakers for quite some time, but age has begun catching up to him over the past couple of seasons. Following the injury, many feared that it would end up forcing Tillman to call it a career and retire.
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Adding his age along with the injury issues that he has had throughout the past couple of seasons, it isn’t too crazy to think that he could call it quits. He has always been a very strong and tough player, but there comes a point where the body just doesn’t want to play the game anymore. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Tillman, however, after some quotes that he made to the media.
Injured #Bears CB Charles Tillman to @theMMQB on if he'll play next season: "Yeah. Rehab is going well. I feel good."
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) October 15, 2014
Injured #Bears CB Charles Tillman to @theMMQB on how much he has left: "Maybe two years? Max? That’d be awesome."
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) October 15, 2014
Hearing those types of comments from Tillman is a good sign and it will be interesting to see where he ends up playing next season. Tillman will be a free agent following this season, and he didn’t have a ton of suitors this past offseason when he was also a free agent. There is a chance that the Bears will offer him a new one-year deal out of respect for what he has meant to the franchise.
Tillman has played in 12 NFL seasons so far and has recorded 857 total tackles, 42 forced fumbles and 36 interceptions. He has been one of the best defensive players that the Bears have ever had at the cornerback position especially, and has forced his way into the conversation of all-time great. That being said, he still obviously believes that he has another year or two left to build onto his legacy.
Hopefully he is able to make a full recovery to come back next season and play up to his standards. He isn’t the type of player that will come back unless he feels that he can play at 100 percent. Expect to see Tillman back on an NFL field next season.
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