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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears announced the signing Wednesday of defensive tackle Nate Collins to a one-year contract.

Financial terms weren’t immediately disclosed.

A two-year veteran, Collins played in 13 games over the last two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars after coming into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2010 with the New York Giants. A former standout at the University of Virginia, Collins posted 10 tackles and half a sack to go with a fumble recovery and one pass breakup.

Collins seemed to be a promising young player for Jacksonville, but the Jaguars rescinded an exclusive-rights free agent tender offer in March to the defensive tackle less than a month after a Virginia state trooper arrested and charged him with possession of marijuana.

Collins was set to appear in court on that charge on April 19.

With the signing of Collins, the club’s current roster now sits at the 90-man limit.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears have waived offensive tackle Levi Horn, tight end Andre Smith and guard Reggie Stephens.

The Bears announced the moves on Monday, trimming their roster to 89 players.

Horn spent most of the past two seasons on the practice squad. Smith was an undrafted free agent out of Virginia Tech last season, and Stephens joined the practice squad last November.

The Chicago Bears agreed to terms with fourth-round pick Evan Rodriguez and seventh-round pick Greg McCoy on four-year contracts, the team announced on Tuesday.

Financial terms of the deals weren’t immediately disclosed.

Rodriguez, a tight end out of Temple, was a two-time first-team all-MAC selection. He caught 35 passes for 479 yards and two touchdowns during his senior season. Bears general manager Phil Emery said on draft day he envisions Rodriguez as not only a key contributor on special teams, but also a player capable of starting in the club's base offense.

A kick returner and cornerback, McCoy started 39 of 52 games at Texas Christian University, and was drafted in April by the Bears with the 220th overall selection. McCoy posted 92 tackles at TCU to go with seven interceptions and 17 pass breakups.

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The Chicago Bears waived reserve safety Winston Venable, who made the roster last year as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Boise State.

Venable appeared in 12 games in 2011 and finished tied for fifth on the club with 10 special teams tackles.

Venable was likely deemed expendable after the Bears spent a considerable chunk of the offseason strengthening their special teams via free agency and the draft. They also used a third-round pick to select Brandon Hardin out of Oregon State, a collegiate cornerback who the Bears plan to convert to a strong safety.

Chicago Bears backup running back Kahlil Bell re-signed with the club on Wednesday.

Bell signed the low tender offer worth $1.26 million over one season, as opposed to a long-term deal. The Bears tendered a qualifying offer to the veteran back in March.

Bell broke the news on his Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon.

"Just re-sign[ed] with the Bears today going on year number 4!!! God is so great. Blessed beyond belief!!!"

Bell appeared in 13 games with the Bears last season, including three starts, and rushed for 337 yards.

The Chicago Bears signed former San Francisco 49ers guard Chilo Rachal to a one-year contract on Monday.

The 6-foot-5, 323-pound Rachal, a second-round pick out of USC in the 2008 draft, appeared in 55 games, making 38 starts in his four seasons with the 49ers.

Despite Chicago's 1-5 finish to end 2011 with a disappointing 8-8 record, the voters took it easy on the Bears in a special edition of ESPN.com's Power Rankings.

Based on some of the moves made in the offseason and what's transpired around the rest of the NFL, the Bears sit at No. 10 in the Rankings with two NFC North foes -- Green Bay and Detroit -- ahead at No. 3 and No. 7, respectively.

Team president Ted Phillips said the team needed to close the talent gap in the division, and it appears the Bears are trending that way with the moves such as the acquisition of receiver Brandon Marshall, and backup running back Michael Bush. But it's clear the team needs to make more strides in the coming weeks through free agency and the NFL Draft in April.

ESPN.com's Week 18 rankings -- the last installment of the series before Friday -- placed the Bears in the 20th spot, which marked a two-spot jump from No. 22 in the Week 17 rankings. So Chicago's moves paired with other occurrences, such as Bountygate, the Giants winning the Super Bowl and Oakland's regime change have vaulted the Bears 10 spots from the last edition of the rankings. The Saints and Raiders, meanwhile, took the biggest tumble, falling nine spots apiece to No.11 and No. 26, respectively.

ESPN NFL insider John Clayton mentioned, “The Jay Cutler-Brandon Marshall combo will be hard for defenses to stop,” while adding that the Minnesota Vikings -- last in the rankings among NFC North teams at No. 31 -- "officially are in rebuilding mode.”

Surely, after the NFL Draft the rankings could change. But it appears NFL observers consider the Bears to be off to a good start for what will be perhaps Lovie Smith's most pivotal season as the team's head coach.

The Chicago Bears made the release of defensive tackle Anthony Adams official and announced that offensive lineman Frank Omiyale has also been cut on Thursday.

ESPNChicago.com reported on Sunday that Adams, 31, had been told he would be released by the Bears.

"Cuts are never easy, but are a part of the evaluation process," Bears general manager Phil Emery said in a statement. "We appreciate all that Anthony and Frank gave the Bears organization both on and off the field during their time in Chicago. We wish them the best moving forward."

A ninth-year veteran, Adams played the first seven games of the 2011 season -- starting two -- but was inactive for five of the team's next eight outings. Adams hadn't been inactive in that many contests since the 2008 season.

Adams was scheduled to receive $1.9 million in base salary while counting $2.65 million against the Bears' salary cap.

Omiyale, 29, was a versatile lineman in his three seasons with the Bears, starting 31 games at both guard and tackle positions in 48 regular season games.

The Chicago Bears informed veteran Anthony Adams on Sunday of the club's intentions to release him, according to the defensive tackle.

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The Chicago Bears named Tim Holt offensive line coach on Wednesday, replacing Mike Tice who was promoted to offensive coordinator.

Holt spent last season as an assistant offensive line coach with the Buccaneers, his third season in Tampa Bay. A 17-year coaching veteran, Holt joined the Bucs as a coaching intern during spring OTAs in 2009 and worked with the offensive line during the season. Holt has worked with two Pro Bowlers on Tampa Bay's offensive line the past two seasons in guard Davin Joseph (2011) and left tackle Donald Penn (2010).

Holt spent 14 seasons as a college coach, including 10 working with offensive linemen. He had stops at Southern Connecticut State (1995 and 2005-07), Lehigh (1997-98), Cornell (1999-2000), American International (2001-03) and Stonehill College (2008).

The Chicago Bears have reached an agreement with Jeremy Bates to become their quarterbacks coach.

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CHICAGO -- As training camp opened this year, Jerry Angelo was hit with familiar questions about adding more offensive linemen.

The nerve of those reporters. As if J'Marcus Webb wasn't enough! And how about Gabe Carimi?!

"Everybody has an opinion: 'They need this, they need that,' " Angelo said. "Well, tell me who you want. Who should we look at? Give me names. Don't tell me about our problems. Give me solutions. I'm in the solution business, not identifying the problems. You guys do a great job of identifying our problems. How about a few solutions."

Apparently, George McCaskey and Ted Phillips are in the solution business, too. And as Angelo said recently, they didn't "whistle Dixie" about making a change after a 7-3 season devolved into an 8-8 ending.

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears announced Wednesday the signing of receiver Kevin Jurovich to the practice squad.

Jurovich, 6-0, 199 pounds, came into the league in 2010 as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles out of San Jose State. The Eagles released Jurovich in July, and he spent the 2010 regular season on the practice squad of the San Francisco 49ers.

Jurovich participated in two preseasons with the 49ers catching three passes for 66 yards, and was released by the club in August.

Jurovich caught 60 passes for 777 yards and a touchdown as a senior at San Jose State.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears cut Sam Hurd on Friday, two days after the receiver was arrested on federal drug-dealing charges.

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The Chicago Bears shuffled safeties on Wednesday, placing Anthony Walters on injured reserve and signing Winston Venable.

Walters, an undrafted free agent who spent the first five weeks of the season on the practice squad, played four games for the Bears this season.

Venable, who was waived by the Bears on Oct. 11, appeared in five games for the Bears with five special teams tackles.