dasox24 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,4083164.story Surprise move: Bears' Tait set to retire By Vaughn McClure | Tribune reporter 12:39 AM CST, February 14, 2009 The Bears made plans Friday to move forward without two veteran offensive players; one departure was expected but the other will surprise many. Starting right tackle John Tait has informed the team he is strongly contemplating retirement, and an NFL source said the team expects Tait will walk away from the final year of his contract in 2009. That decision caught some off guard, but sources said Tait has been considering the move since the completion of his 10th NFL season because of nagging ankle injuries that affected him more than outsiders realized. The release of wide receiver Marty Booker, the last Bears receiver to make a Pro Bowl, was expected. Booker, 32, struggled in his second stint with the team and caught just 14 passes for 211 yards. The loss of Tait, 34, will cause a bigger shock to the Bears' system. He started all 16 games last year despite often playing through pain and has started 73 regular-season games since coming to the Bears in 2004. If Tait officially retires as is now anticipated, free-agent offensive tackle John St. Clair will have considerably more leverage in negotiating with the Bears. The team already was expected to pursue him to compete with Tait, and now he becomes the favorite to become the starter. He has said he prefers to stay in Chicago. "I definitely want to play tackle," St. Clair told the Tribune. "I've played tackle most of my career. I'm all for playing right tackle. Playing there again wouldn't be a problem at all. And Chicago is a good fit for me." It was a good fit for Tait, too, since he came to the Bears as a restricted free agent from the Chiefs in 2004. His ability to switch to left tackle before the 2005 season when the Bears signed right tackle Fred Miller solidified the line on a team that went the Super Bowl in 2006. When the Bears drafted left tackle Chris Williams in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft, Tait unselfishly switched back to the right side. His absence would make it likely the Bears will look to select a right tackle in the first few rounds of April's draft. Tait was to make $4.8 million, and Booker's release will save the Bears another $1 million as the team prepares for the beginning of free agency Feb. 27. The Bears also released linebackers Gilbert Gardner and Marcus Riley on Friday. So I think it's even more likely now we'll likely take a OT in the 1st 3 rounds, or sign one in free agency at least. I've been a huge proponent of Oher if the other teams above us are idiots and don't take him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ54 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 I'm somewhat surprised but he hasn't played all that well lately and I won't necessarily miss that since afterall I was pretty much in the club wanting to cut him once we sign someone else for RT. My biggest gripe about this is that it would have been nice of him to not make this public until after FA opens and the draft. That would have helped the club. As it is now we may have to make a strong push to get St Clair back in the fold, something I advocated right after the end of the season. Now we've lost a bit of leverage but then on the other hand so has St Clair because now we definitely need a starter on the right side and we might prefer to go after someone with a better resume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChileBear Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 As it is now we may have to make a strong push to get St Clair back in the fold, something I advocated right after the end of the season. Now we've lost a bit of leverage but then on the other hand so has St Clair because now we definitely need a starter on the right side and we might prefer to go after someone with a better resume. Oh yeah. St. Clair now is in the driver's seat. I say sign him, he's got experience, can play T or G and he knows and works well with the other guys on the line. And I guess that Tait just realized it was time to go. I wish hm luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowlingtwig Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Oh yeah. St. Clair now is in the driver's seat. I say sign him, he's got experience, can play T or G and he knows and works well with the other guys on the line. And I guess that Tait just realized it was time to go. I wish hm luck. Before I left for my route this morning I was looking through the sports section and came across that. I was shocked. I didn't know what to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connorbear Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Sorry it didn't work out for Marty here the 2nd time around. He was a very, very good receiver early in his career. I would think he is most likely done. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 This comes as no surprise, and is not a big disappointment to me. Good luck to Tait in the future. If the Bears don't draft OL heavy NOW, then this front office is dumb as hell. One of guys who was considered one of the better members of the OL is leaving, and he didn't even play that well this year. That should be a big flashing sign to invest in the OL through FA or the draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfoligno Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 My cocern now is that we re-sign St. Clair w/ the belief that our OT position would then be set. Sure, they might look for some depth, but would look for that in the mid 2nd day area of the draft. I don't know. I like St. Clair, but I liked the idea of signing him to compete at OG, while also providing depth at OT. IMHO, if we sign him to be our starting RT, I think we will have wasted an opportunity. I think this gives us a great excuse to go after a FA like Gross, or draft one early. But again, my fear is we will see St. Clair as more than bandaid/depth. This comes as no surprise, and is not a big disappointment to me. Good luck to Tait in the future. If the Bears don't draft OL heavy NOW, then this front office is dumb as hell. One of guys who was considered one of the better members of the OL is leaving, and he didn't even play that well this year. That should be a big flashing sign to invest in the OL through FA or the draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkerBear7 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 My cocern now is that we re-sign St. Clair w/ the belief that our OT position would then be set. Sure, they might look for some depth, but would look for that in the mid 2nd day area of the draft. I don't know. I like St. Clair, but I liked the idea of signing him to compete at OG, while also providing depth at OT. IMHO, if we sign him to be our starting RT, I think we will have wasted an opportunity. I think this gives us a great excuse to go after a FA like Gross, or draft one early. But again, my fear is we will see St. Clair as more than bandaid/depth. NFO, I could not agree more. St. Clair is a versatile player but over as a starting LT he was average at best. Like him back for quality depth and possible starter at OG. Clearly we need to infuse more young talent into this group via draft or FA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balta1701-A Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 NFO, I could not agree more. St. Clair is a versatile player but over as a starting LT he was average at best. Like him back for quality depth and possible starter at OG. Clearly we need to infuse more young talent into this group via draft or FA. With both Tait and booker gone, that saves the bears what, another $5 million in cap space? Clearly they need to resign St.Clair and add another lineman, but that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 If there's anyway we could sign Jordan Gross, I would cream all over myself. On February, that's the last day CAR could franchise him, and then on February 27, free agency starts. Apparently, we save about $5 million if he does retire but we still owe like $2 million for his original signing bonus. http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,4083164.story So I think it's even more likely now we'll likely take a OT in the 1st 3 rounds, or sign one in free agency at least. I've been a huge proponent of Oher if the other teams above us are idiots and don't take him. But isn't Oher a LT? Or do you say we should keep him at LT and move Williams to RT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradjock Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 On Tait: 1. It's not surprising he was struggling with injuries even though he was never listed on the injury report. That explains why his play declined this year. 2. Didn't Ruben Brown contemplate retirement after the 2005 season? I feel like it was June before he announced he'd be back. Despite what the article says, I wouldn't be surprised it Tait did something similar. He just turned 34 in January, which isn't THAT old by O-line standards. I don't care how much money you have, 5 million, or however much it is, is one helluva a lot of money to walk away from. Doesn't he have like 7 kids? 3. If we knew this was a possibility, why haven't we made an offer to St. Clair? Either way, our depth at tackle scares the hell out of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connorbear Posted February 14, 2009 Report Share Posted February 14, 2009 Either way, our depth at tackle scares the hell out of me. Yeah, like we have 1 who has never started and a practice squad dude. Not good. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ54 Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 We may not have offered a contract to St Clair knowing we want to be aggressive in FA or the draft going after a true starter for years to come. It seems clear JA wants to let him test the waters to see what he gets offered. St Clair says he wants to be a starter but if nobody offers that to him he might find Chicago as his best situation and return. His experience in our system at both tackle and guard might be his best shot at becoming a starter if Lovie is willing to let him compete for it. In anycase I agree that we should not settle for St Clair as being our future at RT for the next year or two. We need to seriously upgrade this position. That means spending money and/or high draft picks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 I love John Tait, but thank god. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chwtom Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 This should just make it an easy decision for Angelo to sign a real RT (not named St Clair). Tait wasn't going to earn that 5 mil this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASHKUM BEAR Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Maybe Tait was told by the Bears he can save some face by announcing his retirement before they cut him, but if that was the case, we would have seen Booker to retire also instead of being cut. Losing Tait/St. Clair is a bright spot IMO. Sure they're both great guys, but there level of play hasn't been mind blowing either. This will force the Bears to compete in the FA market/Draft which I believe they have planned on anyway. I would make Jordan Gross my first priortiy as he is flexible at playing either OT spot. He is also one of the best OT's in the league and the Panthers have Otah/Wharton to replace him. The Bears are in great cap financial shape and can be in the market for 2-3 starter quallity players. 1-Jordan Gross RT 2-Oshio Atogwe FS 3-Michael Jenkins WR ATL 6-4" 215 / Michael Clayton WR TB 6-4" 215 / Reggie Williams WR JAX 6-4" 212 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfoligno Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Bears have a knack of doing this, but I am not sure this time. If he were to simply be cut, he would still likely have value on the market, and find another team to sign him. But now, he has gone public about injuries and lower level of play, and that he was thinking retirement for a couple years. That would do little to help his market, so I think Tait (if he were not serious about retirement) would rather have simply been cut. I agree 100% that his retirement gives us a great opportunity. My fear is still that we are going to simply look to re-sign St. Clair. While I like St. Clair, I just feel like he should be plan B (or C) and not the player we target for RT. Agreed about Gross, but even after him, there are a few other OTs I would prefer over St. Clair. Maybe Tait was told by the Bears he can save some face by announcing his retirement before they cut him, but if that was the case, we would have seen Booker to retire also instead of being cut. Losing Tait/St. Clair is a bright spot IMO. Sure they're both great guys, but there level of play hasn't been mind blowing either. This will force the Bears to compete in the FA market/Draft which I believe they have planned on anyway. I would make Jordan Gross my first priortiy as he is flexible at playing either OT spot. He is also one of the best OT's in the league and the Panthers have Otah/Wharton to replace him. The Bears are in great cap financial shape and can be in the market for 2-3 starter quallity players. 1-Jordan Gross RT 2-Oshio Atogwe FS 3-Michael Jenkins WR ATL 6-4" 215 / Michael Clayton WR TB 6-4" 215 / Reggie Williams WR JAX 6-4" 212 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesson44 Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 We need to resign St.Clair and go after Gross too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearSox Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 With the amount of money Gross would cost, I highly doubt we'd resign St. Clair if we did sign Gross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowlingtwig Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 With the amount of money Gross would cost, I highly doubt we'd resign St. Clair if we did sign Gross. How much do you honestly think St. Clair will garner??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balta1701-A Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 How much do you honestly think St. Clair will garner??? Without knowing how the economy is hitting football teams (We may not know that until the summer, frankly) it's hard to say. Who'd have thought the MLB FA market would collapse 1/2 the way through the offseason? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DABEARSDABOMB Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 The Bears clearly have to have tackle high up on the list. It would be tough to win having two rookie tackles (ie, if we take one in the early rounds of the draft and add it to Williams, who is essentially a rookie). So with that in mind, I would expect the bears to add a veteran tackle or maybe opt for St. Clair, but I hope they only go the route of St. Clair if they truly think he's a quality starting RT in this league. I think St. Clair is a nice backup (since he can play guard/tackle) but ideally he isn't a starting tackle on a top notch oline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chitownhustla Posted February 17, 2009 Report Share Posted February 17, 2009 The Bears clearly have to have tackle high up on the list. It would be tough to win having two rookie tackles (ie, if we take one in the early rounds of the draft and add it to Williams, who is essentially a rookie). So with that in mind, I would expect the bears to add a veteran tackle or maybe opt for St. Clair, but I hope they only go the route of St. Clair if they truly think he's a quality starting RT in this league. I think St. Clair is a nice backup (since he can play guard/tackle) but ideally he isn't a starting tackle on a top notch oline. im not a fan of Stclair as a starter either...i remember watching him play for STlouie and thinking this guy is terrible. next thing i know we sign and i was like WTF!! he is attractive as a back up though I think there are 2 things that must happen before the next season 1. Sign a vet QB....i would like to see Losman, i dont think it will take a huge amount of money leaving more for a OL. I think he has the tools all he needs to do his get his mind right. MAYBE with with a good ground game with a good oline he can perform like the 1st rounder he was projected to be 2. Sign a OT.... i would like Gross, but you cant always get what ya want either way we need something if those 2 things happen before the draft then i wouldnt mind us going after a wr in the 1st. there is alot of talent for wr this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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