Chicago Bears Offseason 2012

[Pushfrog98]

Any word in Mario's recovery? Is a torn pec something that will linger like a torn hammy?

[Banedon]

Q: Do you think there is a chance that the [Chicago] Bears go after Mario Williams to start opposite Julius Peppers? I think the addition of Williams could help the defense by not having the linebackers and cornerbacks blitz the quarterback so much on passing downs, considering there are enough open holes on the field when the Bears are in the Tampa 2 defense.

 

John in Naperville, Ill.

 

A: In the salary-cap era, I can't see a team paying two defensive ends $14 million a year. Although it looks great on paper, it doesn't work well for the capologists, particularly in the early part of a new CBA that has flat caps. Sure, you can structure a deal that can work for a year or two, but the big numbers at one position eventually catch up to a team. A Cover 2 team can do great when it has two pass-rushers, but it would be hard to feature the two highest-paid ends in the league and still take care of other positions.

 

[jersey cubs fan]

Clayton acknowledges that it can work but insists such a thing will eventually catch up to a team. Yeah, in 2-3 years they will probably be without Peppers anyway. They will also be without a mega deal LB in Urlacher. If they were to go this way, I'd expect them to go offense heavy in the draft early, then in the back half of this draft and most of next draft start going heavy defense again to replace those vets that will be gone. The Bears absolutely can make this work. There's no reason why you can't have 2 highly paid defensive ends.

[rawaction]

How much do you see Manningham getting? I don't see him getting more than 4/24ish or so. Maybe 12 to 15 guaranteed? I'm OK with that for him.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get close to what Sidney Rice got. Rice got 5 years/$41Mil. I'd guess 5 years and anywhere from 32-38Mil. Once Jackson signs and Colston looks like he's going to RE-sign in NOLA.....Manningham becomes the top guy on the board at WR probably based on his experience.

[jersey cubs fan]

How much do you see Manningham getting? I don't see him getting more than 4/24ish or so. Maybe 12 to 15 guaranteed? I'm OK with that for him.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get close to what Sidney Rice got. Rice got 5 years/$41Mil. I'd guess 5 years and anywhere from 32-38Mil. Once Jackson signs and Colston looks like he's going to RE-sign in NOLA.....Manningham becomes the top guy on the board at WR probably based on his experience.

 

Before he won the Super Bowl I was interested in him as a dark horse candidate to help with WR depth. He's no #1 but he's a nice player, who along with Bennett and a 1st or 2nd round pick could at least stabilize the group. But after the Super Bowl hype I'm guessing he gets a little more than deserved and am now much less interested.

[Magnetic Curses]

How much do you see Manningham getting? I don't see him getting more than 4/24ish or so. Maybe 12 to 15 guaranteed? I'm OK with that for him.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get close to what Sidney Rice got. Rice got 5 years/$41Mil. I'd guess 5 years and anywhere from 32-38Mil. Once Jackson signs and Colston looks like he's going to RE-sign in NOLA.....Manningham becomes the top guy on the board at WR probably based on his experience.

 

which is why it's important to come back with jackson.

[rawaction]

Clayton acknowledges that it can work but insists such a thing will eventually catch up to a team. Yeah, in 2-3 years they will probably be without Peppers anyway. They will also be without a mega deal LB in Urlacher. If they were to go this way, I'd expect them to go offense heavy in the draft early, then in the back half of this draft and most of next draft start going heavy defense again to replace those vets that will be gone. The Bears absolutely can make this work. There's no reason why you can't have 2 highly paid defensive ends.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Peppers gone as soon as 2013. He gets a significant raise after this season (base salary goes up almost 5Mil, I believe). Urlacher's a FA after this year. Briggs could be also gone by then. Forte could be gone if no long-term deal is reached. That would leave Mario and Cutler as the only big contracts on the team. That's very doable, and I personally don't think the dropoff would be that huge if you draft well at DE and LB, and have managed to shore up the WR and OL in the meantime.

[jersey cubs fan]

Clayton acknowledges that it can work but insists such a thing will eventually catch up to a team. Yeah, in 2-3 years they will probably be without Peppers anyway. They will also be without a mega deal LB in Urlacher. If they were to go this way, I'd expect them to go offense heavy in the draft early, then in the back half of this draft and most of next draft start going heavy defense again to replace those vets that will be gone. The Bears absolutely can make this work. There's no reason why you can't have 2 highly paid defensive ends.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Peppers gone as soon as 2013. He gets a significant raise after this season (base salary goes up almost 5Mil, I believe). Urlacher's a FA after this year. Briggs could be also gone by then. Forte could be gone if no long-term deal is reached. That would leave Mario and Cutler as the only big contracts on the team. That's very doable, and I personally don't think the dropoff would be that huge if you draft well at DE and LB, and have managed to shore up the WR and OL in the meantime.

 

Yes, I think it's inevitable that within 2-3 years a lot of current big earners will be gone, but it could happen as soon as next offseason.

[ctcf]

Some quick tidbits from pft:

 

- NFL is requiring the Cowboys an Redskins to take half their cap hits this year, meaning the skins just lost 18 million on their cap for 2012.

 

- The Bills supposedly want to make a big splash right away and have been rumored to be interested in VJax

[jersey cubs fan]

Some quick tidbits from pft:

 

- NFL is requiring the Cowboys an Redskins to take half their cap hits this year, meaning the skins just lost 18 million on their cap for 2012.

 

- The Bills supposedly want to make a big splash right away and have been rumored to be interested in VJax

 

Buffalo should have a tough time recruiting big name free agents.

[Guest]

Clayton acknowledges that it can work but insists such a thing will eventually catch up to a team. Yeah, in 2-3 years they will probably be without Peppers anyway. They will also be without a mega deal LB in Urlacher. If they were to go this way, I'd expect them to go offense heavy in the draft early, then in the back half of this draft and most of next draft start going heavy defense again to replace those vets that will be gone. The Bears absolutely can make this work. There's no reason why you can't have 2 highly paid defensive ends.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Peppers gone as soon as 2013. He gets a significant raise after this season (base salary goes up almost 5Mil, I believe). Urlacher's a FA after this year. Briggs could be also gone by then. Forte could be gone if no long-term deal is reached. That would leave Mario and Cutler as the only big contracts on the team. That's very doable, and I personally don't think the dropoff would be that huge if you draft well at DE and LB, and have managed to shore up the WR and OL in the meantime.

 

Yes, I think it's inevitable that within 2-3 years a lot of current big earners will be gone, but it could happen as soon as next offseason.

 

Exactly. Mario Williams is you enough that he can still be a star player in post-Urlacher/Briggs/Peppers era which is coming. It alleviates draft pressure (immediately looking for that trio's replacements).

[Magnetic Curses]

Some quick tidbits from pft:

 

- NFL is requiring the Cowboys an Redskins to take half their cap hits this year, meaning the skins just lost 18 million on their cap for 2012.

 

- The Bills supposedly want to make a big splash right away and have been rumored to be interested in VJax

 

Buffalo should have a tough time recruiting big name free agents.

 

all else being equal we have them beat

[ctcf]

Some quick tidbits from pft:

 

- NFL is requiring the Cowboys an Redskins to take half their cap hits this year, meaning the skins just lost 18 million on their cap for 2012.

 

- The Bills supposedly want to make a big splash right away and have been rumored to be interested in VJax

 

Buffalo should have a tough time recruiting big name free agents.

 

all else being equal we have them beat

 

How dare you underestimate the drawing power of Ryan Fitzpatrick.

[ctcf]

Man, Biggs and Dickerson + Wright are certainly trying their best to temper expectations on Twitter. They keep going on about how the Bears have a ton to deal with next season and so on.

[ctcf]

Colston is off the market.

[Guest]

Colston is off the market.

 

I suppose it makes sense for a guy like Colston to return to his former team, but the sanctions the Saints are looking at sure has to scare off any impact free agent types. Love or hate Goodell, when he imposes a penalty, it's not exactly soft.

[Magnetic Curses]

Man, Biggs and Dickerson + Wright are certainly trying their best to temper expectations on Twitter. They keep going on about how the Bears have a ton to deal with next season and so on.

 

what does that mean?

[Named After Maddux]

Colston is off the market.

He wasn't a target I really wanted the Bears to spend much time pursing, but I was kinda hoping he would be on the market a little longer, if for no other reason than to have another WR on the market to distract other teams a tad. Overall though, I completely expected he'd return to the Saints.

[ctcf]

Jason La Canfora ‏ @JasonLaCanfora

Colston's deal is worth a max of $40M over 5 years, with just under half of it guaranteed #freeagency

 

For those inquiring minds. Certainly sets the stage for VJax. I feel like that's less $$$ than I'd expect.

[UMFan83]

Man, Biggs and Dickerson + Wright are certainly trying their best to temper expectations on Twitter. They keep going on about how the Bears have a ton to deal with next season and so on.

 

what does that mean?

 

It means don't be disappointed if the premiere FA on the market coveted by a number of teams doesn't end up on the Bears because a couple of journalists tweeted that the Bears were the favorites.

 

Also means that the Bears have a ton of holes to fill so don't be surprised if they get out bid at some point because they need money left over to address other needs.

[Magnetic Curses]

i'm not sure how they fill any holes in a meaningful way if they don't get a top free agent. certainly, there are no better options at receiver than jackson. they can sign him and still have enough to round out their roster--the draft is coming up. i don't get their point.

[davell]

I'll predict V-Jax gets 6/78 with 30 guaranteed. He's far and away the best WR avaiable and has teams with bigtime cap room as well going after him.

[Magnetic Curses]

marcus mcneill was officially released.

[Banedon]

marcus mcneill was officially released.

 

Btw, here's a good running live blog with updates on all the NFL happenings today...

 

http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/03/13/pff-live-free-agency-reaction-blog-day-1-031312/

[jersey cubs fan]

i'm not sure how they fill any holes in a meaningful way if they don't get a top free agent. certainly, there are no better options at receiver than jackson. they can sign him and still have enough to round out their roster--the draft is coming up. i don't get their point.

 

It worked for the media people who wanted the Cubs to stay out of free agency.