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

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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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Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said Tuesday he wasn't shocked when he heard the audio of former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams telling his players to injure San Francisco 49ers players, but he did think it crossed a line.

"It didn't shock me, but it's definitely a line you can't cross," Cutler said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "You can't say that. You can't condone that. You can't instruct your guys to go out and play like that. Guys are going to take head shots. They're goign to take shots. They're going to hit you as hard as they possibly can. That's the game.

"Whenver you start instructing guys to take head shots and give guys concussions especially with the way the commissioner is coming down on those types of hits and concussions and emphasis on that, you're going to pay a severe penalty."

MUNCIE, Ind. -- The family and friends of the late NFL star Dave Duerson have begun a program to help high school and middle school athletes in his hometown of Muncie who suffer head injuries.

The Dave Duerson Muncie Community Schools Athletic Safety Fund is designed to help them avoid chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition caused by repeated brain trauma. Duerson suffered from it before killing himself a year ago.

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Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith said Wednesday it's "a little early" to cast accurate predictions on the potential return for receiver Johnny Knox, who continues to rehabilitate from a serious back injury suffered in December.

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CHICAGO -- Free-agent cornerback Zack Bowman has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings, according to a source familiar with the situation.

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Former Chicago Bears QB Jim McMahon says repeated blows to his head during his playing days are taking a toll on him today, which is why he is among the hundreds of former players suing the NFL.

News of the NFL's investigation into a New Orleans Saints "bounty" program led by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and funded primarily by players left some Chicago Bears players questioning whether they were victimized by the team in a 30-13 Week 2 loss.

The NFL announced Friday it found that several players on the New Orleans Saints and Williams maintained an improper pay-for-performance system that included "bounty" payments to players for inflicting injuries on opposing players that would result in them leaving the game. Two Bears players -- offensive tackle Gabe Carimi and receiver Earl Bennett -- suffered injuries against the Saints that led to them missing a combined 19 games.

Upon learning the news about the Saints, one Bears player asked via text message, "How much for Earl's injury, I ask?"

Bennett, who first responded to the news on Twitter saying "SMH!"(shaking my head), later expressed his desire for another chance to face the Saints soon.

"All I have to say is I hope we play them again," Bennett said. "The game of football is a contact sport, so if they're gunning for me, I'm going to be gunning for them."

Bennett left Chicago's Week 2 loss after taking a crushing hit to the midsection from Saints safety Roman Harper that caused internal injuries. The hit resulted in Bennett missing five games. In the same game, Carimi was lost for the season because of subluxation of his right knee cap. In addition, quarterback Jay Cutler -- who was sacked six times, including twice by Harper -- was kicked in the throat early in the third quarter, which left the signal caller struggling to call signals in the second half.

"I got kicked in the throat at the start of the third quarter," Cutler said at the time. "It was worse in the third quarter and fourth quarter with my voice. Guys I guess couldn't hear the snap count and the plays coming out."

Interestingly, Harper was fined a total of $22,500 by the NFL for two infractions during a Saints game last season against the Tennessee Titans. The safety wasn't fined for his shot on Bennett.

After one sack of Cutler during the Week 2 loss in the Superdome, right tackle Frank Omiyale -- filling in for the injured Carimi -- pulled a rusher off the quarterback igniting somewhat of a skirmish between he and the defender. Asked what prompted the tussle, Omiyale at the time said "they were doing some dirty stuff."

According to the league's findings, New Orleans Saints players contributed cash into a pool and received payments for plays such as interceptions and fumble recoveries, but also included "bounty" rewards for "cart-offs," meaning that the opposing player was taken
off the field, and "knockouts," which were characterized by a player being unable to return to action.

The investigation revealed the total amount of funds in the Saints' pool may have reached $50,000 or more at its height during the 2009 playoffs. The "bounty" system paid players $1,500 for a "knockout" and $1,000 for a "cart-off," with payouts doubling or tripling during the postseason.

"The payments here are particularly troubling because they involved not just payments for 'performance,' but also for injuring opposing players," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "The bounty rule promotes two key elements of NFL football: player safety and competitive integrity."

Information from Jeff Dickerson and ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter was used in this report.

In making his first public comments since suffering a horrific back injury on Dec. 18 against the Seattle Seahawks, Bears receiver Johnny Knox posted on Twitter that he can remember the play "like it was yesterday."

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Donovan McNabb admitted Friday that he was expecting a call from the Chicago Bears after Jay Cutler went down with a fractured thumb on Nov. 20, but that call never came and the Bears lost five of their last six to miss the playoffs.

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte has been cleared to participate in the upcoming Pro Bowl after his injured knee checked out OK during a team administered physical, the club announced on Thursday.


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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Injured Chicago Bears free safety Chris Conte will have the cast on his right foot removed on Tuesday and plans to fully participate in the club's offseason workout program.

Conte suffered ligament damage in the foot versus the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 18 and missed the final two games of the regular season.

"I'm going to be fine, going to be back to 100 percent," Conte said on Monday. "I'm probably going to start working out pretty soon. It's important for me, especially not having an offseason last year [due to the lockout] to spend as much time as possible in Chicago during the offseason. That's what I'm planning on doing."

A 2011 third-round draft choice, Conte started nine games his rookie year and finished with 47 tackles and one interception.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher left Sunday's 17-13 win against the Minnesota Vikings with a left knee injury.

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