DABEARSDABOMB

Boldin than signs a 4yr 28M deal. I would have been down with that. That isn't too bad, money wise, for a WR like Anquan.

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.

-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.

Biggs has said that the Bears are flat out not involved in any discussions for Boldin. Period.

Briggs: Excited, but how about a safety Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs is following his team's free agent pursuits on Friday via the Internet, and while he liked what he saw early, he has a suggestion. The Bears set up interviews with top free agent Julius Peppers, as well as running back Chester Taylor. And the Bears have locked up tight end Brandon Manumaleuna for five years. "I'd be excited [to get Peppers]," Briggs said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "Obviously, when you get a premier defensive end like Julius Peppers, he's going to help bolster any defense." Briggs was asked how he would like his defensive huddle in training camp to include Peppers, a healthy Brian Urlacher and a re-committed Tommie Harris. "That's the whole idea, and a safety," Briggs said. "I'm in L.A. right now, and I turn on the Internet to see what's going on, what the organization is doing, and to me it looks like we're making sweet moves right now. "I'm excited about everything right now."

They won't move Forte. He's got a lot of value in-house with his cheap salary. Plus you need 2 good backs in the NFL. They provide depth and major insurance in the case of injury.

Completely agree. He's a total class act and was a bargain.

Peppers contract is expected to give him 20M in up-front cash. 7M will go to Taylor in up-front cash and 6M to Mamu. That would be a total of 33M in up-front cash the Bears just doled out on Day 1 of FA. That is a huge huge statement by the McCaskeys!!!

5 yrs, 15M, 6M in guaranteed money is what I read from Brad Biggs. Thats good money for a TE, but if he is a great blocker, it will work out. An elite blocking TE to go alongside Olsen or Clark would signiifcantly increase our chances of putting up TD's in the red zone. I also think we are going to see Mamu used in short-yardage situations as a fullback on ocassions as well.

At least the org wasn't just cheap. They decided not to eat the money on changing coaches, but instead use that money towards potential difference makers within. I'm ok with that and I think the franchise has made some huge statements the last two years with the Peppers signing and the Cutler trade.

If it takes a 3rd round pick, I'd consider it. The problem is the money that the team will have to give to Boldin and the fact that Boldin has such a history of injuries.

Sounds like Manu signed for 15M with 6M in guaranteed money so he's definitely not going anywhere. So basically if we keep Olsen, Clark goes. If we move Olsen, Clark stays, imo.

Gotta love his attitude!!!

I think the Bears are going to shell out more than 25-30M, but I could be wrong. I think that was a figure to tell teams we are going to be agressive, without quite saying we have a blank check for the season. And I don't think the Bears have a blank check. I will also say that I'm pretty happy with the deals we have handed out and I don't think they will straddle the long-term future of the Bears. With a few other nice moves and some nice developments with current players, our defense could be rejuvenated. Lovie won't have any excuses assuming decent health because Peppers will make this defense so much more explosive.

I think this is better than having a Top 5 pick. But otherwise the draft is incredibly important. That said, I think the Bears have done incredibly well assuming this deal is done and finalized. If they can address the safety position and than maybe add an olineman than It'll be a dream come true. Who knows what else is planned, but the defense is already a lot better.

The need to free up money isn't from a cap perspective, rather a payroll perspective. Just because a guy has a cap hit of 4M, he might only actually have a true payroll cost of 2M or vice versa. The reason I say that is because you might determine you need to free-up your finances (ie moving someone like Harris or whomever could free up a few million in real cash) to make a move . Also, I do not currently support moving Harris because I don't think the Bears are actually set to pay him much money.

You are right. Lets hope these deals work out better than those did.

Also Terra, I think the reason the Bears jumped so fast on Taylor was because there aren't a lot of quality RB's out there in FA. LT is older and Westbrook is injury prone. Thomas Jones would have been tough given the relationship the Bears had with the back on top of the fact that the Jets still want him. Once Sproles was tendered at the highest level, the importance of finding a back quickly became key. On the safety front there are still the possibilities of Rhodes getting released, plus Sharper, Rams, and Steelers safeties all available.

I think the safety is coming. Rolle was just commanding ridiculous money so they had to go another route. Clark or Atogne would both be excellent upgrades. I think we'll end up landing Clark (or whatever the hell the Steelers safety's name is.

Clark isn't expensive so I just don't see why we'd get rid of him. He's productive (when healthy) and to me the only reason you move him is if you are doing it to give him a better opportunity to get playing time. I got a feeling the real reason he didn't get a call back is because our front office is more concerned with getting Peppers/Taylor/etc taken care of.

This is it. I do have to give mgmt credit for going out and getting Cutler and Peppers in a 2 year span. Pretty incredible if you ask me. I also think there is a case that the Bears aren't done, but the next moves come after they free up some more money via trades (ie, Olsen or Harris or whomever moving for picks).

Taylor hasn't taken huge hits so I don't see why he wouldn't be a productive back. This is a huge move and gives our offense so much more life. Look at most of the top teams in the league and they have 2 good backs and now we have that. And for the money we are paying this is a bargain. I really love how we took advantage of the un-capped year by front-loading the contract so that the long-term salary cap impacts are minimal.

Olsen is rumored to be on the move.

Whoooohoo

Olsen for draft picks makes sense. It makes the Bears a player in the draft (and its always good to have picks) plus allows the Bears to potentially be a player for one of the wide-outs that becomes available. If Boldin can be had for a 3rd rounder we might see something get done (if the Bears can get some picks back for Olsen). That is my best guess.