adam

Ugh, ranked 63rd Safety by PFF (-4.7 rating). He is a downgrade from Wright and/or Steltz.

So you would have confidence with Mundy and a Rookie as our starting Safeties? That would be one of the worst tandems in the league.

Biggest need? I still thought Safety was our weakest position last year. If we lose Wootton and don't get someone like Allen, you could say we got worse on the DL.

I just felt like we missed out and then had to scramble a little bit. Don't really know how we did not get a starting caliber Safety when it was technically our biggest need. There is not much left on the market either (Clemons, Allen, or some guy named Major Wright).

So Allen goes to Seattle too? https://twitter.com/ESPNChiBears That would suck to lose 2 DL to Seattle in 24 hours.

That doesnt seem like an Emery move. Houston was the "Big" move after we missed on Bennett. Now all I can see us picking up are fringe players or vets on 1 yr flyers, which will be incredibly disappointing with the holes we needed to fill.

I would love Edelman. The offense would literally be unstoppable.

Houston, Mundy, and Senn? 1 starter and massive needs at Safety, CB, and DL. I know it is only Day 1 but we didnt get Ward or Mitchell, and will probably lose Melton, Tillman, and McCown. At this point we are taking another step back on defense if we dont add an impact FA. That scares me.

So $5 mil cap hit this year? I am thinking signing bonus pro-rated, roster bonus applied to this year's hit. He gets 21 over first 3 years. So next year will probably go to 7-8 and 2016 will go to 8-9. If the roster bonus is prorated, then it is more like $2.6 million cap hit for this year, but $5 seems more realistic.

What were our player ratings?

Nope they signed Caldwell as their #3.

Special Teams? I don't know what they see in him that Pittsburgh and NYG did not. He has played in 80 games, started only 15 (10 last year) and has a career total of 2 INTs, 2 FFB, and 1 Sack. Compare to Conte who has 6 INTs and 2 FFB in 45 games, starting 40.

Whitner to Cleveland, Ward to Broncos https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter

Yeah hopefully an upgrade.

Addition by subtraction

Wow, that is a steal for him at that price. He was on a 1-yr $5 million contract and now only re-ups for $2.125 more per year? I was really expecting $8-10 for him.

Per Biggs: also:

This will be huge for us as we need some impact players on defense (crazy saying that about a Bears team).

Yeah Bennett+Ratliff>>>>>>Peppers

Anything is better than Conte at this point. Mitchell would be an upgrade.

I don't know how much those other 2 contracts will impact McCown's. Henne had more passing yards last year than McCown has had in the his last 8 (combined). Both of the other QBs are fringe starters, and McCown is not considered in that category. At his age, he is a veteran backup and should be paid like one. I would think McCown would be in the range of 2 yrs and no more than 5 million.

Yeah, I saw him too, and he would definitely add another element to the offense that we do not have right now.

In the Hester thread, I thought that the Bears wanted to maximize their roster spots and go with someone who is more than just a returner, and Dexter McCluster seems to fit that role. I still believe we have a good chance at landing Bennett. Emery wants to make this his team, so I have a feeling that Tillman is gone.

Hester only had 18 punt returns on the entire season, a career low. Not too hard to take any good returner out of the game by not kicking to him. 11 other players had a Punt Return TD last year, and many play another position: Dexter McCluster Micah Hyde Jeremy Ross Antonio Brown Keshawn Martin Tandon Doss Tavon Austin Marcus Sherels Travis Benjamin Trindon Holliday Dwayne Harris Hester had the most KO returns and did not have a single TD. 6 players had a KO TD. Cordarrelle Patterson Quintin Demps Jacoby Jones Trindon Holliday Jeremy Ross Knile Davis Hester is the oldest of the bunch. The team may be looking at bringing in someone who can fill multiple roles and not be an exclusive returner.

Yeah, but I am sure he has a number and it doesn't necessarily have to be the biggest number. scs787 is right, hard to go from Seattle to a bottom feeder team.