Christopher Michael Conte (born February 23, 1989) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at California.
Early life
Conte attended Loyola High School, and graduated in 2007. During his time at Loyola, Conte played both safety and wide receiver. Conte was named to the All-Far West team by SuperPrep, and posted 58 tackles with 4 INTs and caught 43 passes for 614 yards and 4 touchdowns in his senior year, as well as helping his team to the CIF Division I title as a junior, collecting 38 tackles and 2 INTs.
Conte is the grandson of the late actor Richard Conte, who passed away in 1975.
College career
Conte expressed interest in UCLA, but ultimately committed to California on February 7, 2007. Conte played in 50 games, with 17 starts during his four seasons at Cal, and compiled career totals of 157 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss (−13 yards), two interceptions (for no return yards), 11 pass breakups, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, three kick returns for a total of 55 yards (18.3 ypr) and one blocked punt that he returned six yards for a touchdown against the Arizona State Sun Devils. In his senior year, Conte earned first-team all-Pac-10 honors.
Statistics
Professional career
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Conte was one of the top performers in the broad jump, as he finished fourth among defensive back prospects.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears selected Conte in the third round (93rd overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft. Conte was the third safety drafted in 2011.
2011
On July 29, 2011, the Bears signed Conte to a four-year, $2.60 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $533,600.
Throughout training camp, Conte competed for a job as a starting safety against Major Wright and Chris Harris. Head coach Lovie Smith named Conte the backup free safety to begin the regular season, behind Major Wright.
He made his professional regular season debut in the Chicago Bears' season-opening 30–12 victory against the Atlanta Falcons. The following week, Conte recorded his first career tackle during a six-yard run on running back Pierre Thomas in the third quarter of a 30–13 loss at the New Orleans Saints in Week 2. On October 16, 2011, Conte made his first career start and recorded a season-high six combined tackles in a 39–10 victory against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6. Conte was named the starter after Brandon Meriweather was benched after Meriweather had disappointing performances in the first five games of the season. On October 23, 2011, Conte recorded a solo tackle, two pass deflections, and made his first career interception in the Bears' 24–18 victory at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7. He intercepted a pass by quarterback Josh Freeman at the two-yard line, that was originally intended for receiver Mike Williams, in the first quarter. On December 19, 2011, the Chicago Bears placed Conte on injured reserve after he injured his foot during a Week 15 loss to the Seattle Seahawks the previous day. Conte finished his rookie season in 2011 with 30 combined tackles (23 solo), two pass deflections, and an interception in 14 games and nine starts. Pro Football Focus gave Conte the 43rd highest overall grade among all qualifying safeties in 2011.
2012
Conte entered training camp slated as the starting free safety. Head coach Lovie Smith officially named him the starter to begin the regular season, alongside strong safety Major Wright.
He started in the Chicago Bears' season-opener against the Indianapolis Colts and recorded four combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Andrew Luck that was deflected by cornerback Tim Jennings in their 41–21 victory. On October 1, 2012, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (eight solo) during a 34–18 victory at the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4. He was inactive for the Bears' Week 17 victory at the Detroit Lions after injuring his shoulder the previous week. On December 31, 2012, the Chicago Bears fired head coach Lovie Smith after they finished with a 10–6 record and did not qualify for the playoffs. He completed the 2012 season with 68 combined tackles (52 solo), nine passes defended, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery in 15 games and 15 starts. He received the 56th highest overall grade from Pro Football Focus among all qualifying safeties in 2012.