adam

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.

Michael Bennett set to test free agency: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap200000033...est-free-agency If he doesn't go back to Seattle, Chicago seems like a logical destination with his brother's campaigning. Obviously money will be a factor, but if we cut Peppers, and with the increased cap, there should be money there this year to make a run at him.

I assume he will end up in TB if he is truly gone. I would've liked to have seen at least a one year incentive laden deal.

Woo hoo, here we go, dead weight, waste of salary cap space, and bad punting. We just got better.

From all the stories about him in TB, I would pass on Freeman. I would rather trade down in the first to pick up an extra pick or two, then take a mid-round QB with the exta pick.

I agree, I hope #1 is a fact since the draft is fairly deep, we need more than one impact player and we can pick up an extra pick or two moving down only a couple of positions. For #2, I hate this one as I love Peanut, but it is reality. Emery does not spend for aging veterans. Someone is willing to overpay for someone like Peanut. For #3, I think it is time to draft a legit prospect this year. If McCown is going to cost more than we can afford, I could see someone like McCarron in the middle rounds. We could even use the pick we picked up if we traded down in the 1st. #4 is fiction, but I hope for our sake it is a fact. If he was a first round caliber athlete, there has to be some place where he can at least play a the NFL level.

Funny stuff, we will see if it works.

Not this year, we can't afford to give up the picks.

I am sure Emery gave his agent something, but just like Urlacher, Emery does not really tie loyalty to financials. So more than likely, the contract terms are going to be less than Tillman can get elsewhere (Tampa?).

https://twitter.com/mikecwright/status/436992648398647296 I would really like to see Ratliff back. He will only get better.

I don't mind the picks, but I doubt Ealy makes it to 19. Also, Miami has as many needs as us (maybe more due to Incognito/Martin), so I can't see them trading up.

Bennett's choices will probably come down to: 1. Stay in Seattle for the least amount of money but best chance at another SB 2. Come to the Bears and play with his brother for more money than Seattle, but less than other clubs 3. Go to another team with more cap space and get the largest contract possible So if playing with his brother is worth a $1 or $2 million a year, it is possible, but unlikely.

Yeah, that doesn't sound promising.

At least he admits his mistake, both Jones and Mercilus would've been better picks.

I am confused, you freed up $13.75 million with those players and we already had around $13.5 under the cap. So we are starting with over $27 million. Also, Emery has a bunch of those conversion contracts (Cutler, Gould, Jennings, Slauson) where he can convert current salary into a bonus. So he can take $14 million for Cutler this year and spread it over the life of the deal reducing this year's hit by $12 million. So we have as much room as we need.