Bearstalk

Brad Biggs is reporting via Twitter that Kevin Jones has officially been released.

Ryan Clark negotiated with the Pittsburgh Steelers this week to see if he could hammer out a longterm extension but that didn’t happen and the free agent is drawing pretty solid interest early in free agency. His agent Joel Turner declined to name the teams involved but said six clubs, including the Steelers, are involved at this point. Obviously, Arizona and Chicago would be on a very short list of teams seeking safeties with Miami and the New York Giants also in the market. Washington, where Clark used to play, could also be looking for a safety. “Everyone is gaga over Antrel Rolle,” Turner said. “Ryan is a better player. He’s got better numbers across the boa…

Bears can pull the plug on Peppers after one year Posted by Mike Florio on March 8, 2010 11:07 PM ET We mentioned earlier tonight some of the details relating to the Julius Peppers deal. We've picked up some more information about the contract, and it's now clear that if the Bears clean house after the 2010 season, it'll be easier for the new regime to bid Peppers adieu. As Peter King of SI.com pointed out this afternoon, Peppers gets $20 million in 2010 (all but a $100,000 workout bonus is guaranteed). But the $22 million in guaranteed money that he's due to receive in 2011 and 2012 is guaranteed for injury only. This means that the Bears can decide after…

http://www.nootsnotes.com/2010/03/09/bears...e-agent-frenzy/

Lito Sheppard lines up suitors Posted by Mike Florio on March 8, 2010 2:40 PM ET Cut last week by the Jets, veteran cornerback Lito Sheppard is looking for a new home. We're told that two teams are in the mix for his services. Per a league source, the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears have expressed interest. To date, no visits have been scheduled. Sheppard was traded last year from the Eagles to the Jets. The eight-year veteran appeared in 11 regular-season games with nine starts in 2009. He started eight in a row before being removed from the starting lineup for the AFC title game.

I am elated that the bears are so aggressive. However, I remember not too long ago when I and most other members here were asking for Lovie's head. Then when turner was let go and marinelli was made D coach it seemed that we were accepting that Lovie was a lame duck coach with the rest of his staff. If no playoffs then he goes and someone like Cowher would come in. That made sense. Then we hire martz who's approach is the antithesis of someone like cowher. We bring in Maleuna who is nothing like Olsen (high draft pick). Then we add Peppers who is a great 4-3 DE and not a pure fit for a 3-4. It is like we are adding pieces for the future. To summarize Parcell's an…

1. Why does everyone assume Olsen won't fit with the Martz offense? We have 3 pretty good "receiving" TE's on the roster. The Martz offense typically calls for 3 WR sets. Doesn't Olsen or Dez Clark become the 3rd WR??? A typical offensive set would be QB, 5 o-linemen, RB, 2 TE's, 2 WR's. Seems like a no-brainer. 2. Manumaleuna is such a unique player, who backs him up? When we drafted Lance Louis we speculated he might become a blocking TE. Is he the guy?

according to ESPN radio the Sun-times is reporting he is signed 6yrs 72 million with 37 million guaranteed

-Bears brass believes success went to his head after rookie year. -They werent at all impressed with his work ethic last off-season as he spent most of his time in Tulane.

I read on Profootballtalk.com that odds of Donta Whitner/FS/Buffalo staying on the team on slim. He was a 6th pick in the 2006 draft and havent lived up to expectations for the team. Could he revive his carrer as a Bear? I think it would be a low end risk to obtain him, and give it a shot. Offer them a 6th pick? They will problem just cut him anyways.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Bronco...r-Marshall.html Look about halfway down...Lombardi's saying that the Bears are trying to deal Des Clark, not Olsen.

Using drafttek for slot selections, here is my mock after todays key FA signings. 2-47 (from New England/Olsen) Vladimir Ducasse OG UMass 3-75 Major Wright FS Florida 4-106 Mike Neal DT Pur 5-137 Marcus Easley WR UConn 6-171 Brian Jackson CB OKL 7-202 Erik Cook C New Mex Since the Bears addressed some key needs in FA, they will turn to the draft to add some youth to the mix. The decision to trade Greg Olsen was a tough one, but the Bears brass knew they would have to part ways when they decided to hire Mike Martz (thus the reasoning it took so long to decide). They recieved the second of New Englands second rounders and with that draft OG Vladimir …

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...,4375726.column Rams safety fills bill for Smith’s greatest desire — takeaways Dan Pompei On the NFL March 7, 2010 E-mail Print Share Text Size Now that the Bears have a player who can force the opposing quarterback into making bad throws, they need a player who can intercept those passes. O.J. Atogwe, meet Lovie Smith. You might remember Atogwe. When he was playing free safety for the Rams last December, he had two forced fumbles against the Bears. And those forced fumbles are part of a large trend. Since Atogwe came into the league as a third-round pick out of Stanford in 2005, he has …

Rams | May give Atogwe lowest tender Comment (0) Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:37:33 -0800 Jim Thomas, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, reports the St. Louis Rams are considering tendering impending restricted free-agent FS Oshiomogho Atogwe at the lowest level work $1.226 million. The Rams would have the right of first refusal, but they would not receive compensation if they decided not to match.. Read more: http://www.kffl.com/hotw/NFL?page=0#ixzz0hCI7gAZM

Bears | Taylor looking forward to playing against Minnesota Comment (1) Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:58:36 -0800 Brad Biggs, of The Chicago Tribune, reports Chicago Bears RB Chester Taylor said one of the factors in choosing to sign with the Bears was the chance to play against the Minnesota Vikings, his former team, twice per year.

Dont like the signing. Unless we already have a deal for Rolle/Atogwe... i dont see why they moved so fast. FS is a desperate need and relying on a 3rd rounder is BS Getting Chester Taylor is certainly a great back to have, but i dont like not filling a major need first

Cards traded Boldin and a 5th rounder for a 3rd and 4th rounder from Bmore. I guarantee if the Bears had draft picks they might have tried to do this. But as of now, I think they know that they had bigger fish to fry.

http://www.theredzone.org/BlogDescription/...ts/Default.aspx Rolle signs five-year $37 million deal with the Giants Mar 5 3/5/2010 9:23:17 PM | More Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News reports Antrel Rolle is officially a Giant. The Pro Bowl safety signed a five-year, $37 million contract with the team just a few moments ago, according to a league source. The deal includes $15 million in guaranteed money.

Wilson seems like a good fit for the Bears. Or can we go with Clark from Pittsburg or Atogwe from the Rams

Dez Clark refused to do interviews on the air (AM 1000 ESPN) because he reached out to the Bears and they have not returned his calls after the the signing of the TE today. He said as much in intervieiews after the season that he thought he could be replaced and with him already recieving a 475,000 dollar roster bonus and only due 1.5 mil he shouldn't be a cap casualty this year but it may come down to keeping him or Olsen.