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CHICAGO -- Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher remained a spectator as the club began organized team activities on Tuesday but the veteran expects to be completely healthy when the team opens up training camp in late July.

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Former Chicago Bears 2007 third-round draft choice Garrett Wolfe is headed to the CFL after agreeing to terms on a two-year contract to play for the Montreal Alouettes, the team announced last week.

Wolfe, 5-foot-7, 186-pound tailback, was a member of the Bears from 2007-2010 where he carved out a nice role on special teams, recording 48 special teams stops during his final three years in Chicago. However, despite being the all-time leading rusher at Northern Illinois University with 5,164 career yards, Wolfe was used sparingly on offense during his time with the Bears, carrying the ball 72 times for 282 yards and one touchdown.

The Bears failed to tender Wolfe after his contract with the club expired following the 2010 season and he was unable to catch on with another NFL team last summer following the lockout. Wolfe was also involved in a highly publicized dispute at a Miami nightclub in May, 2010, however, he was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing in the matter by the Miami-Dade State's Attorney office.

The Alouettes first 2012 preseason game is scheduled for June 14 versus Winnipeg. The club opens up the CFL regular season on July 1 against Calgary.

"NFL Live's" Cris Carter discusses Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall's best attributes.

WESTMONT, Ill. -- Running back Matt Forte declined Thursday to speak about his contract negotiations with the Chicago Bears, but he said he appreciated the public support of his teammates and liked the team's offseason moves to bolster the offense.

Forte was designated the Bears' franchise player in March, and the two sides have continued trying to work out a long-term deal. They have until July 16 to agree on a contract or Forte must play under the franchise tag, which would pay him $7.74 million in 2012.

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New York City police have decided not to bring charges against Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall for a melee at a NYC nightclub in March, according to Marshall's attorney, Harvey Steinberg.

"Brandon was the victim here and never did anything wrong," Steinberg said. "This confirms that."

Marshall was alleged to have punched a woman in the face, but police struggled to find evidence against Marshall, according to sources.

Marshall said last week in a radio interview that he was confident he would be "cleared of any wrongdoing."

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Over the past few months, the Chicago Bears have transformed their receiving corps from one of the NFL's shortest to arguably the tallest. They've reunited the key players from the Denver Broncos' dynamic 2008 offense and they've fended off questions -- including some from their quarterback -- about their offensive line. But to me, the most intriguing thing happening in Chicago at the moment is the development of a mysterious package of plays for receiver/kick returner Devin Hester, the latest in a long line of attempts to harness Hester's Hall of Fame speed and skills for their offense.

General manager Phil Emery hinted at the new approach shortly after the draft. Offensive coordinator Mike Tice and receivers coach Darryl Drake offered some morsels to reporters during last weekend's rookie minicamp, and all that's left now is to see if it actually works.

Part of me wants to roll my eyes and cringe, as we did recently on the blog, as the Bears once again refuse to accept what Hester is and isn't -- at least what he hasn't been yet. They remain unsatisfied with him simply being the best kick returner in NFL history. And another part thinks this attempt could prove to be the most productive balance the Bears have tried yet.

Drake might have best explained the plan last weekend by suggesting the "Hester Package" will limit snaps but elevate targets to make more efficient use of Hester's time on offense.

"The talent has always been there," Drake told reporters. "It's just a matter of not having him play 70 plays and throw to him twice. Play him 15 [plays], let him touch it 13 [times.] In order for him to be effective, we don't need to have him out there playing that many plays. If he's out there, put the ball in his hands. We need to have that package, and Mike Tice -- I promise you -- he's going to do it."

On the surface, it makes sense. Hester's combination of speed and open-field running ability is rare and awfully tempting to expand on. And when you look at the chart, you see what happens when a team doesn't have or utilize the speed to stretch a defense vertically. The 2011 Bears, for instance, had one of the least efficient short passing games in the NFL last season.

But running a full game's worth of pass routes probably takes the edge off Hester's energy in the return game. There is reason to think he could have a similar impact in 15 plays designed to involve him than he could in 70 plays that spread the ball around the field.

That appears to be the starting point for a tweak that appears to have emanated from, or at least endorsed by, Emery himself.

"I want to make sure that we have a special plan for Devin," Emery said last month. "We have the 'Devin Package' -- packages of plays as a receiver. You never know where he's going to line up. I don't want to get too far ahead of that in terms of letting other people know what we're going to do with him, but he will have a package of plays that we feel can bring out his dynamic ability to the forefront and if not only as carrying or catching the ball, but sometimes that's a decoy.

"Devin's speed vertically is something that has to be accounted for. So if that pulls people from coverage, to handle that vertical ball, you've got other people; we've got some awfully big targets to hit."

On the other hand, of course, it's not as easy as it sounds. You better believe that opposing defenses will notice when Hester is on the field, especially now that the Bears have announced they want to get him the ball often in the relatively brief period of time he plays offense. I don't think it will make teams leave, say, Brandon Marshall wide open to account for Hester, but his appearance isn't going to surprise anyone, either.

The "Hester Package" has already conjured comparisons to the "Randy Ratio" that Tice used after taking over the Minnesota Vikings' head coaching job in 2002. As you might recall, a study of the Vikings' 2001 season showed they won every game they targeted receiver Randy Moss on at least 40 percent of their throws. Tice announced he would make that goal a centerpiece of his offense.

The "Randy Ratio" wasn't a schematic adjustment as much as it was Tice's attempt to cajole the notoriously anti-authoritarian receiver to buy in as a team leader. It backfired on a number of fronts, and Tice himself acknowledged over the weekend that it "came back to bite me in the [rear end]."

Turning serious, Tice said: "Devin is going to be on the field. If he's not on the field, then they should fire me."

That final line speaks to the extent the Bears have prioritized Hester's potential contribution. You know the old saying: If at first you don't succeed, try try again.

The Chicago Bears signed safety Brandon Hardin to a four-year contract on Tuesday.

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Whose fate was more disappointing, the Bears and Jay Cutler or the Bulls and Derrick Rose?

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The Bears have agreed to terms with 11 undrafted rookie free agents, the club announced on Saturday.

Wyoming running back Alvester Alexander; Louisiana Tech linebacker Adrien Cole; Old Dominion defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron; Troy OT James Brown; Wayne State safety Jeremy Jones; Maine safety Trevor Colston, Southern Mississippi linebacker Ronnie Thornton; Chris Summers, WR, Liberty; A.J. Greene, T, Albany; Terrium Crump, WR, Western Illinois and Britton Golden, WR, West Texas A&M.

The Bears broke camp last summer with several undrafted rookie free agents on the 53-man active roster, including wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher and linebacker Dom DeCicco.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Versatility and fit for the new scheme expected to be employed by new offensive coordinator Mike Tice trumped character red flags Saturday, when the Chicago Bears selected former Temple tight end Evan Rodriguez with their fourth-round pick (111th overall).

Bears general manager Phil Emery extolled Rodriguez’s potential as a “move tight end,” adding the new rookie’s off-the-field problems have come as the result of issues with “maturity, more than any single factor.”

“I’m very glad to have drafted Evan Rodriguez, and have Evan become a Chicago Bear,” Emery said. “Right role, right fit for the player and team; we see Evan as a combination of a fullback and an F tight end (primarily a receiving tight end). As we analyzed our team needs, we really felt that we had a defined need with the system changes that coach Tice will bring in terms of having a vertical tight end, somebody that could challenge the inside of the defensive structure of our opponent.”

Upon taking the job as Chicago’s GM, Emery came away from his initial analysis of the roster and anticipated changes on offense that the Bears needed to add multiple weapons for quarterback Jay Cutler. Emery believes the acquisitions of Brandon Marshall, second-round pick Alshon Jeffery and Rodriguez accomplish that objective.

“We feel good about where we’re at in that process.”

Often compared to New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez by people in the scouting community, Rodriguez (6-1 1/2, 239 pounds) flashes sufficient speed (4.56-second 40-yard dash) to stretch defenses, but the Bears feel they acquired even more in terms of a fit for what they want to do offensively.

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Bears selected their second offensive player of the 2012 NFL Draft when they grabbed Temple tight end Evan Rodriguez in the fourth round (No. 111) on Saturday.

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- On paper, Shea McClellin's numbers in his final year at Boise State come up short when compared to a few of the other first-round pass rushers, especially Whitney Mercilus, who went seven picks later to the Houston Texans at No. 26.

But McClellin, the Chicago Bears' first-round pick, has a logical explanation as to why he registered seven sacks and 12.5 tackles for a loss, as opposed to Mercilus who had 16 sacks and 22 TFLs in 2011 for Illinois.

"I guess I didn’t have the stats compared to the other guys, but if you look at my stats you know I averaged, what, 35 plays a game compared to other guys getting 60, 70," McClellin said on Friday. "And they’re rushing the passer every down, I was in coverage, I was doing all kinds of things, so it’s hard to compare and that kind of thing. I really think I can be effective, hand in the dirt, standing up, whatever the team wants me to play, needs me to play.”

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears 2012 first-round draft choice Shea McClellin said on Friday there is no truth to rumors he suffered three separate concussions during his four-year collegiate career at Boise State Broncos.

The defensive end, however, did admit to suffering one documented concussion his junior year with the Broncos.

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A text message from a high-ranking personnel evaluator came through hours after the Chicago Bears selected Boise State defensive end Shea McClellin on Friday with the 19th pick of the draft.

It asked a simple question: “What do you think...about the pick?”

The message seemed tinged with sarcasm, so the wheels started spinning immediately. With so much big-name talent capable of filling needs at multiple positions still available in the first round, did the Bears and new general manager Phil Emery reach by grabbing McClellin? Multiple talent evaluators from both the NFC and AFC say yes -- and no.

The latter seemed to make more sense, given the circumstances the Bears faced.

So, naturally, the response to the original text message was, “What did YOU think of the pick?”

“Horrible, everyone had a second round grade on him,” the original texter replied.

Ok, got that. But that led to another question: “Where did you guys have him on YOUR board.”

“I can’t talk our board. But he would HAVE been there in the 2nd,” the evaluator said, punctuating the message with one of those nice text smiley faces comprised of a colon, followed by a comma.

Another other personnel man from a 2011 playoff participant said McClellin was a “late 2” on his team’s draft board.

But then a conversation with a talent evaluator from another playoff team offered a bit of clarity. Like Chicago, this club was looking for a pass rusher on Friday, but its pick wouldn’t come until after the Bears at No. 19. Between the 15th and 28th selections, seven teams -- counting the Bears -- drafted pass rushers.

The Seattle Seahawks started the run of pass rushers with its surprising selection of West Virginia’s Bruce Irvin. The New York Jets drafted North Carolina’s Quinton Coples with the next pick at 16, before San Diego -- one slot ahead of the Bears -- moved on South Carolina’s Melvin Ingram.

After McClellin came off the board to the Bears, just three top pass rushers (Chandler Jones, Whitney Mercilus and Nick Perry) remained.

The third evaluator said his team graded McClellin “around the same” as the first two personnel men.

“But [were] willing to take [him] with our pick if we got shut out [during the run of pass rushers],” he said.

So at 19, was McClellin really a reach? That doesn’t appear to be the case, considering McClellin probably wouldn’t have been available Friday when it was time for the Bears to pick again at No. 50.

Besides, there’s no way Emery takes a pass on all the promising talent available at 19 for McClellin unless the team’s conviction in him was strong. While the situation is a tad different, Chicago’s decision to select McClellin brings the 2009 NFL Draft back to memory.

Back then, the Buffalo Bills -- enamored with his speed and other measurables -- made Aaron Maybin the No. 11 overall pick, passing on other promising prospects such as Clay Matthews and Brian Orakpo. Two years after drafting him, the Bills cut ties with Maybin -- who didn’t record a single sack -- while Matthews and Orakpo (both similar in size to McClellin) flourished with their respective teams, combining for 43 sacks.

Based on his intangibles, reputation as a hard worker, and relentless playing style, McClellin seems more poised to be like Matthews and Orakpo than Maybin. So if that’s a reach, it’s probably one worth making.