dawhizz

Less fun fact: He doesn't play LB.

The thing is, nearly every reason you cite (except for possibly #4) could have been equally applied to Olin Kreutz when they let him go. And yet, I think most of us would agree that it was the right move: he ended up being pretty terrible in New Orleans, the fanbase was initially mad, but got over it, and it forced other guys to step up their leadership roles. Other thoughts: 4) We still have FA to get some decent LBs. And I think they were always going to target a LB early - 1 year of Urlacher doesn't change your plans much. 5) Though you may be rights when you say "majority", I would say the fan base is fairly split. 6) Are you sure $3 million would have done it, or are you just speculating? I honestly want to know, because I heard that Urlacher's proposal was 2 years for $11 million, and if he was so insulated by a 1-year $2 million contract, I'm not sold that $3 million would have done it. 7) Who are the "multiple" equally bad or lesser players currently making more than $2 million/year on the Bears, besides the rookie contracts that are pretty much set? http://www.rotoworld.com/teams/contracts/nfl/chi/ Hester maybe, but his contract made sense at the time. 8) Yes, but contrast what the Ravens did with Ed Reed with Urlacher. Not so stark a contrast.

I wouldn't be shocked if they wait on Urlacher and see how the draft shakes out. No one seems to be knocking his door down. Maybe we sign a couple FA LBs that give us flexibility going into the draft and wait to see how things go before deciding if we want to bring Urlacher back.

I also wonder if the Bears will try Brandon Hardin at CB next year, since Wright and Conte did pretty well last year and Hardin played CB in college.

Not a surprise, but it's official. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-f...-2013-nfl-draft

What an incredibly flawed premise. So because someone signed him, he must be 100% healthy. They signed him for much less than he would get if he was 100% healthy with no injury risks, but the Rams decided it was worth the risk for them. A lot of players are signed. That doesn't mean that the result of every physical is "no worries, he's 100% healthy." It just means that that particular team decided they wanted to take that chance. I'm pretty sure the Dolphins' doctors looked at the same medical information and decided it wasn't worth the risk for them.

Oh, you think so, Doctor? The torn tricept isn't the only injury he's had. He played his last seven games in 2010 in a shoulder harness which required off-season shoulder surgery. He missed games due to a back injury in 2011 before missing the end of the season with torn biceps. He has had problems with his knee that also required surgery. Maybe he's behind all those injuries and he'll be fine. But that's a lot of problems, some of which can easily become chronic.

While I'm far from sold on the Bears safeties, I think they go into the season with Wright, Conte, Hardin, and Steltz/Walters/Quarles.

We're also in need of CB depth. Now that Moore and probably Hayden are gone, the other guys on the Bears roster (Frey, McManis, Lewis) haven't been contributors, so it's hard to project them at this point. That might be another spot that gets early consideration from the staff, though some options remain in FA (Asamough, Munnerlyn, Winfield, Jacob Lacey).

Contract was 3 years for $12 million, so more financially friendly than Turner's contract, though I remain skeptical about how productive he'll be.

I think the Bears like Matt Blanchard as the #3, but we still need a capable #2. I can't see us spending the money it would take to get (or being a very enticing landing spot for) fringe starters like Kolb, who is apparently soon to be released, or Fitzpatrick, who already has been. Campbell had his chance here. Remaining candidates include Byron Leftwich (probably not a great fit), Brady Quinn (I could see it), or Kellen Clemons (snore). Am I crazy to think the best remaining realistic FA option is (gasp!) Rex Grossman? Or maybe we just wait to see who gets released after the draft?

A lot a people seem to love this and I don't get it. Jackson's about a year away from being what Michael Turner was this year. He had one 100 yard rushing game this year (against the Cardinals) along with games of 21/53, 11/29, 18/55, and 21/48. His longest carry of the year was 46 yards and second longest was 23.

Of course, that worked out pretty well for the Bengals last year.

I'm glad someone watched this. I saw that it was going to be on, but couldn't tune in. Obviously if the Bears are interested, they are going to (or have already) talked to him to feel him out. I guess we'll just have to wait and find out.

Plus Boothe and Moore are still out there to be had, I believe.

Emery pretty much confirms what we already knew - with these two moves, the Bears get a lot of draft flexibility and are more likely than they otherwise would have been to trade down. I hear the 49ers have 14 draft picks - might be a good place to start. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,4807079.story

Brad Biggs ‏@BradBiggs #Bears releases of Kellen Davis, Matt Spaeth and Matt Toeaina will create $5.25 million in cap space.

Shocked the contract is so cheap (I saw something like 4 years, $16 million). He isn't what he was billed to be, but he's been pretty productive the last couple years.

For those with the means to view it: http://www.chicagobears.com/live.html

I think they took care of their big needs and now is the time to let the dust settle and scoop up some deals in a few days.

So TEs next year figure to be Bennett, Rodriguez, and either Kyle Adams or Brody Eldridge.

Without Collins, Idonije (who played there some), and Toeaina, Bears suddenly very thin at DT.

Jared Cook's deal with the Rams is 5 years, $35 million. Makes Bennett look like even more of a bargain. Also, the Bears are paying Bushrod about $1 milliom more per year than Gosder Cherilus is getting. Interested to see what Long ends up getting.

At least we would be upgrading from our history of slow potheads (Webb, JT Thomas, Rashaan Salaam) to fast potheads. That's a step in the right direction!

I like it a lot, though I don't see Reddick lasting that long. I'd see it more like: 1) Jonathan Cooper, OG, UNC 3) Kevin Reddick, LB, UNC 3) Ryan Swope, WR, Texas A&M 4) Tyrann Mathieu, CB, LSU (Big risk, but with veterans in Jennings and Tillman to learn from, I love the idea of him starting at nickel/dime and developing from there) 5) Braxton Cave, C, Notre Dame (though if we need to add bodies at LB, I like Keith Pough from Howard here) 6) Chris Jones, DT, Bowling Green