DABEARSDABOMB

Ian Rapoport on Twitter: "The #Bears are re-signing CB Tracy Porter, source said. They rejuvenated his career there.

Brad Biggs ‏@BradBiggs 14s14 seconds ago #Bears announce RB Jacquizz Rodgers and OL Nick Becton have been re-signed to 1yr contracts. Rodgers was core ST player pre injury.

Broncos did a combination of both and it worked very well for them. Even Pats have ventured into FA as well. You have to draft well, but you also need to take advantage of FA. That doesn't mean you put all your hopes on FA, but it can still be a valuable tool. I heard Polian on Monday talking about FA and he said the best free agents you sign are the ones you know. He went on to say, if you don't know the players, you are better off staying away from them. That means you know them through strong connections with other coaches (where you 100% know the real story) or preferably people in your organization worked with said player in a previous role. In the case of who we have targeted, I don't know if we have any ties to Massie, but clearly with some of the other names, they often go back to people we had who worked with them in the past, thus you have a much better idea of the player you are getting, his work ethic, how a pay raise might impact it, how he fits in, how coachable he is, etc.

Dan Wiederer ‏@danwiederer 23s23 seconds ago New Bear Bobby Massie will have an instant bud in Kyle Long. They workout together at LeCharles Bentley's O-Line Performance Academy.

I agree. I'm worried this would be on the higher end than I'd have liked, but, getting a slightly above average RT also means you we get an all pro guard back so the overall upgrade is pretty significant.

Olivier Vernon gets $85M over 5 years — WOW — with $52.5M in guarantees

This would be the presumption you are stockpiling picks and think you are more than a year away (so you'd also draft a QB).

Where did the Giants get all this money. Big CB signing, sign Snacks, and now this. Tons of money. @RapSheet 2m2 minutes ago For Olivier Vernon and the #Giants, I'm told it's the biggest defensive end deal in history with the most guaranteed money

He had been wanting 8M per year. Curious what he ended up getting. On an unrelated note, does this mean Long is moving to LT or is he going back to guard?

Sweet sweet sweet!!!

4 yrs 28M. 1st year cap hit was 14M.

Osweiller signs with Houston. Do the Bears get really bold and pull off a blockbuster deal sending Cutler back to Denver?

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet 40s40 seconds ago #Texans expect to sign OL Jeff Allen, more offensive help with a lot of holes to fill.

Patrick Finley ‏@patrickfinley 45s45 seconds ago #Bears still in on former #Patriots/#Saints DE Akiem Hicks, per source, but he doesn't figure to sign anywhere today. Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet 35s35 seconds ago #Bears working to re-sign CB Tracy Porter, who was reborn in CHI. But w Jenkins off the board, OAK zeroed in on Smith, his market heating up

Rich Eisen ‏@richeisen 6m6 minutes ago Punters are Breaking News too: @BradNortmanisms about to bolt Panthers for Jacksonville, 4-year deal

He is from Illinois and went to school at Illinois, so it would be a homecoming of sorts. Brad Biggs ‏@BradBiggs 3m3 minutes ago Brad Biggs Retweeted Alex Marvez Word is market for G Jeff Allen could hover between $6 million and $7 million per season. Stay tuned.

Aaron Leming ‏@AaronLemingNFL 4s4 seconds ago Aaron Leming Retweeted Alex Marvez #Bears in heavy on Jeff Allen. Would be a big signing. Alex Marvez ‏@alexmarvez .@KCChiefs G Jeff Allen being heavily pursued by @ChicagoBears & @Atlanta_Falcons among others. @NFLonFOX

I agree. I would never even think of handing Miller big guaranteed money or a starting job. I'm all over him at a reasonable deal as a great backup who will get tons of action in two TE sets.

We aren't going to be a great team giving up picks, plus signing a guy to a big contract. It will take cap space and cost us the opportunity at a cheap, high caliber player. Under no circumstances am I interested in Marshall. That opinion might change if we had a back end 2nd round pick or I thought we were a player away from winning a championship. We are not in that position and thus shouldn't be giving away draft picks for guys we need to give big money too, unless they are total franchise changes (i.e., I'd give up the house if it gave us a shot at Aaron Rodgers, Cam or Andrew Luck for example).

Schefty indicating it isn't done, despite some other reports. Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 1m1 minute ago The two teams now making the strongest push for Broncos free-agent LB Danny Trevathan are Atlanta and Chicago, per sources.

I still think odds are pretty high Pace surprises most of us and drafts a QB early. If not moves up for a QB. I think if he can hit on a ton of needs in FA, it makes it even more likely he capitalizes on the QB now (presuming he likes one and some people with good connections indicate there is at least one QB in this class Pace is very high on), knowing you can transition with Jay for a year or two and buy time for the QB to develop (both Paxton / Wentz would fit the mold of draft in round 1, while needing some time on the bench). Cutler is much more moveable a year from now as well and you could probably get an asset if you are ready to make the move than.

If we could get a solid guard, plus Danny T, Gipson (S), and say Aikers....I'd call that a fantastic in general off-season (from a FA perspective). That isn't to say there wouldn't be some other depth moves and obviously we still have to address the issue of CB (whether that was resigning Porter or something else) but that would be adding multiple young players who are significant upgrades and fill big time holes (and in general could still be projecting upward vs. downward from a career perspective). And that is before factoring in potential draft picks.

Had some knee issues last year which supposedly hindered his play quite a bit. No idea what longer term prognosis is. He was a solid player prior to his injury. Seems like a solid upgrade where we wouldn't have to "break" the bank.

I don't think the Pack will help. A, because I don't see the two franchises dealing with each other, and B, because the reported interest was purely if he was released (not interested in a trade). Clearly the Packers saw enough of Marty to release how hard it was to gameplan for him. Dude is really really good.

Interesting that Miller's agent is Rosenhaus, who also repped Dwayne Allen. So you know Miller is going to be asking for a ton, given what Allen got. Allen has talent, but his production doesn't come close to the pay (juts like Miller's history isn't worthy of any significant guaranteed money, imo).