Sources: Ex-NFL CB Charles Tillman training to be FBI agent

ByJEFF DICKERSON
September 19, 2017, 10:08 PM

— -- CHICAGO -- Former NFL All-Pro cornerback Charles Tillman is training to become an FBI agent, sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday evening.

The Chicago Tribune first reported the news.

According to multiple ESPN sources, Tillman is currently at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Tillman, 36, earned a criminal justice degree from Louisiana-Lafayette. His father, Donald Tillman Jr., was a sergeant in the Army.

Tillman's interest in possibly joining the FBI after football dates back to his playing career, during which Tillman -- according to another source -- occasionally observed and worked alongside law enforcement officials during offseasons.

One of the greatest defensive backs in Bears history, Tillman played 12 seasons with Chicago, earning two Pro Bowl nods and being named the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2013. He also won the NFL's Salute to Service award in 2012.

Tillman played his final season with the Carolina Panthers in 2015 but signed a one-day contract to retire as a Bear in July 2016.

He spent his first year out of football working as an NFL analyst for Fox Sports.