ESPN

» NFC Eight in the Box: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

A look at whether each NFC North team has been a winner or a loser in free agency.

Chicago Bears: A hot start in free agency netted left tackle Jermon Bushrod and tight end Martellus Bennett. The Bears had been trying for five years to find a genuine left tackle, and Bushrod's arrival should boost the faith of quarterback Jay Cutler. Bennett, meanwhile, gives the Bears the kind of pass-catching tight end they once had in Greg Olsen. But Bushrod and Bennett accounted for most of the salary-cap space the Bears had budgeted to use, and now they are nibbling the edges. Overall, however, the Bears improved two important positions, making them winners in free agency.

Detroit Lions: The NFC North's most active offseason team has added three new starters in running back Reggie Bush, defensive end Jason Jones and safety Glover Quin. Bush will have a big impact on balancing the explosiveness in the Lions' offense, and Quin will pair with the returning Louis Delmas to give the Lions their best safety duo in recent memory. The Lions have improved as many positions as they could have given their tight salary-cap situation.

Green Bay Packers: It's difficult to win when you don't play, and general manager Ted Thompson is notoriously reluctant to compete financially in the market. He allowed receiver Greg Jennings to sign with the Minnesota Vikings and didn't make a good enough offer on running back Steven Jackson. But the Packers have made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons by following a similar approach. These days, their focus is on saving enough salary-cap space to re-sign quarterback Aaron Rodgers and linebacker Clay Matthews. The Packers won't find two players better than that on the free-agent market.

Minnesota Vikings: In essence, the Vikings traded receiver Percy Harvin for Jennings, along with a first-, third- and seventh-round draft pick. They won't replace Harvin's unique skill set, but that's not a bad recovery. The Vikings are also in a better spot at backup quarterback with Matt Cassel rather than Joe Webb. But they don't have a middle linebacker after bidding farewell to Jasper Brinkley, and they remain thin at cornerback after releasing Antoine Winfield. The Vikings remain a work in progress this offseason. They haven't won or lost yet.

All week Scouts Inc. has been taking a look at how the NFC's divisions have been affected by this year's free-agent shuffle. After tackling the East, South and West, the old Black-and-Blue Division, the NFC North is up.

Kevin Weidl examines the thinking these teams may have going into the 2013 NFL draft.

CHICAGO BEARS

General manager Phil Emery was one of the more active players in free agency this year. The Bears have made three key pickups so far. None of those acquisitions were bigger than signing LT Jermon Bushrod from New Orleans to try to solve their offensive line woes and help prolong the career of franchise QB Jay Cutler, who was sacked 44 times and knocked down 87 in 2012. Chicago also upgraded at TE with Martellus Bennett and made a great move by keeping DT Henry Melton, who is one of the more underrated defensive linemen in the league.

Looking toward the draft, the most glaring need now appears to be at middle linebacker. Talks have fizzled with Brian Urlacher and it appears his days in Chicago are more than likely over.

With the 20th pick in the first round, the Bears could have a few options at inside linebacker. Georgia ILB Alec Ogletree would be the first that comes to mind. From a talent standpoint, this would be a steal for Chicago at 20. In my opinion, Ogletree is one of the most athletically gifted prospects on tape in this class. Similar to Urlacher, Ogletree is a former safety who moves well in space, covers a lot of ground and holds a tremendous amount of versatility. He is a flat-out playmaker in every sense of the word.

Ogletree has his flaws. He needs to continue to get stronger at the point of attack and can do a better job of using his hands when taking on blocks. In addition, he comes with some character baggage that teams must take a hard look at it. Reports are, however, that his football character is strong and on tape he's a potential top-10 talent who could end up being a steal for a team like Chicago in the back half of the first round.

Notre Dame's Manti Te'o is another option at this point. Te'o has taken an absolute beating from the media since a poor national championship performance, the bizzare girlfriend scandal and a subpar combine showing where he clocked a 4.82 40-yard dash. For me, the latter of the three is the most concerning because on tape, Te'o doesn't show great range in coverage. This brings up concerns for Te'o in terms of scheme fit with the Bears, who asked their mike linebacker to do a lot and cover a lot of space. Make no mistake though, Te'o is a quality football player who possesses outstanding instincts and would bring a lot of toughness and leadership to a Bears defense that has hung their hat on those traits for many years.

To read the rest of Weidl's take on the Bears and the other three NFC North teams, click here.

CHICAGO -- Free agent linebacker Brian Urlacher said Friday he would have appreciated a call from a member of the Chicago Bears to tell him the organization was moving on before it issued a press release announcing the split.

"I would have appreciated a call from, maybe not (Bears general manager) Phil (Emery), but (team chairman) George (McCaskey) or somebody else I've been around," Urlacher said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN Chicago 1000. "I haven't been around Phil; he's been here for one year so I don't know him all that well, but (a call) from somebody else in the organization I've been around for a long time (would have been appreciated)."

The Bears announced Wednesday that they would not re-sign Urlacher for a 14th season after the linebacker turned down their one-year offer that could have totaled $2 million.

Urlacher also took issue with the way the Bears announced the news to the public.

"It was amazing how fast they released the statement," Urlacher said. "So they got off the phone with my agent, I don't know what time it was, and 30 seconds later they already had the statement out on Twitter. So they already had the statement prepared on this, obviously, because they had quotes from George and Phil and everybody in there. Right when they hung up the phone my agent said -- he used some choice words -- you're not going to believe this (stuff) they did. And they released it right away, so they were ready, they knew what was going to happen, they were ready for it obviously because they had quotes from George and Phil.

"I'm not upset. I was never upset. I understand the business side of football. It was just time to move on for me, that's all there is to it. I was never upset. Disappointed, yes. I want to be a Bear one-hundred percent. It just didn't work out. But I've never been upset about it, just disappointed."

In the team's prepared statement, Emery is quoted as saying "Brian will always be welcome as a member of the Bears" while McCaskey mentioned that, "(Brian) will always be part of the Bears family."

But Urlacher was lukewarm about the idea of one day returning to Chicago to have his jersey number retired in a ceremony at Soldier Field.

"I have no idea," Urlacher said. "I honestly have no idea if that would ever be possible. First of all they have to ask me to do it. I don't know if they want to do that or not. I don't know."

Urlacher said he does not anticipate the Bears reaching out to him in the future.

"No. I don't expect that to happen," Urlacher said.

The Bears' all-time leading tackler with 1,779 stops, Urlacher was the 2000 NFL Rookie of the Year, a four-time All-Pro selection, a two-time winner of the Brian Piccolo Award and was the team's Ed Block Courage Award winner in 2011.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears signed former Denver Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams to a one-year contract on Friday, a source confirmed to ESPNChicago.com.

Read the entire story.

The Cleveland Browns weren't expected to re-sign Ben Watson, but many thought the team would address tight end early in free agency. It became obvious that the position wasn't a priority as the team passed on Brandon Myers and Dustin Keller. There were even reports of the Browns getting close to signing Fred Davis, but nothing has materialized.

The Browns settled on Kellen Davis, a free agent from the Chicago Bears. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Cleveland signed Davis to a one-year deal.

The addition of a tight end like Davis doesn't preclude the Browns from taking a tight end in the draft or going with Jordan Cameron as the starter. Davis, a two-year starter for the Bears, is considered an underachiever. He has size, athleticism and strength but it hasn't translated on the field. Davis is a solid run-blocker who was a productive red zone target in 2011. Then, in 2012, he caught 19 passes and two touchdowns.

By the Browns signing Kellen Davis and not Fred Davis, the best pass-catching tight end on the roster is Cameron. A fourth-round pick in 2011, Cameron has 26 receptions in limited playing time over the past two seasons.

In other news, the Browns also signed a Falcons free-agent cornerback, but not the one everyone was expecting. While Brent Grimes remains unsigned, Cleveland picked up Chris Owens, who struggled at times as a backup for Atlanta. Owens lost his nickelback job last season and served as the Falcons' dime back (fourth corner). Over his four-year career, he's made 11 starts and has three interceptions.

A free agent for the first time in his 13-year career, former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said Friday "maybe nobody wants me" but he still is happy to talk to other teams.

Read the entire story.

Former defensive coordinator Greg Blache "hurt like a parent" when he learned that Brian Urlacher would not be back with the Chicago Bears next season and said he believes the linebacker can still play.

"I'm sorry that he won't finish it as a Bear but at the end of the day it's business," Blache said Thursday on "Carmen & Jurko" on ESPN Chicago 1000. "Brian is like a son to my wife and I. He and (Urlacher's brother) Casey are like my other two sons. When I heard it this morning I actually hurt like a parent would hurt for one of their children. ... I've been there. It's a business. At the end of the day it's about business.

"And we as coaches talk from both sides of our mouth when we work with these guys. We say 'Come on men. We're together. We're a band of brothers and let's fight that opponent for our organization and our city.' And all the time in the back of my mind we kind of knew the day was going to come when something like this was going to happen, when the organization was going to say 'Thanks but no thanks. Adios amigo.' That's the down side of the business."

The Bears announced Wednesday they would not re-sign Urlacher, ending his 13-season run in Chicago. Urlacher said Thursday on "Mike & Mike in the Morning" on ESPN Radio that he hopes to play for another two or three years.

Blache, who was the Bears defensive coordinator from 1999-2003, said the new Bears coaching staff never got to see the real Urlacher because he suffered through injuries for much of the 2012 season.

"With the new coaches coming in, I don't think they fully understood who he was," said Blache, who is now retired. "He had a pulled hamstring this year, he had struggled with the knee the year before. I don't think they've seen Brian as Brian. He's going to be 35 years old and he's going to slow down a step. But now he's going to be as fast as everybody else because before he was so much faster than everybody. Now he will become human. That's the thing I don't think they realize. Brian will now become maybe human, or close to it. As close as he can become to being human because he's a freak."

Blache said he still keeps in touch with his former linebacker and trusts Urlacher in knowing when it will be time to retire.

"I spoke to him a few weeks ago and he felt the best he has felt in a few years," Blache said. "He was healthy for the first time since he had the knee, he's got an offseason to prepare. I trust Brian's judgment. I think Brian will know when it's time to hang it up. The guy played 12 games this year and still had phenomenal stats. For Brian they were just average. Any other linebacker they would be pretty darn good. I don't think Brian is finished, I really don't."

It's a surprise when it ends amicably in the NFL, when the Hall of Fame-bound superstar finishes his career with the same team he's led for a dozen or so years. Professional sports, all of them, are big and often nasty business. But this is what the NFL does more ruthlessly, more callously than the others: discard great players, show them the door with barely a handshake, much less a hug.

At least Brian Urlacher is in great company, from John Unitas to Joe Montana to Jerry Rice to, well, the great Ed Reed. It would have been a surprise if it ended happily, though that's what Urlacher was hoping for right to the end. Just a week ago he was hopeful he would end his career in a Bears uniform but not particularly optimistic. His fears became reality Wednesday; the divorce was made final. Sentimentality is something with which the NFL is utterly unfamiliar.

Read the entire story.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears signed blocking tight end Steve Maneri to a two-year deal, the team announced on Thursday.

The Bears, Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys were the most aggressive in their pursuit of Maneri, while the Cincinnati Bengals showed varying degrees of interest, according to a league source.

(Read full post)

Brian Urlacher's appearance Thursday on "Mike and Mike in the Morning " included a now-familiar rundown of his failed contract negotiations with the Chicago Bears. But Urlacher also made several comments that mesh with our original discussion about his departure from the team: That the Bears ultimately made him an offer that might have been fair in pure market terms, but one they had to know he would refuse.

Indeed, Urlacher said had suspected for weeks that the Bears didn't want him back and said their public statements to the contrary were "lip service."

"It got a little personal there at the end," Urlacher said, "just because I think I have so much passion for the team. I wanted to be a Bear. I wanted to play here, finish my career here. I think that's what made me mad, too. The Bears kept saying, 'We want to make Brian a Bear, retire a Bear,' blah, blah, blah. It was a lip service in my mind. They said that, but they never acted on it. It was like they had a handbook on how to handle the situation that they all passed around over there."

Urlacher also said: "I told my agent, 'I just don't think they want me back. Lovie [Smith is] gone. New head coach. New general manager. I just don't feel like they're probably going to want me back.' We had some talks going on, so there was a little bit of hope. But I never had a real solid feeling that I would go back there."

The accusation is significant. In essence, Urlacher is saying the Bears decided they didn't want him back, but went through the motions of a contract negotiation to create the impression that they made an effort to retain him. They even went so far as to have coach Marc Trestman say repeatedly that he wanted him back on the field.

If that was indeed the case, it didn't work.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Bears' $2 million offer -- which already represented a 75 percent pay cut from 2012 -- wasn't fully guaranteed. The Bears could have released him before training camp and owed him a total of only $500,000.

Again, you could find plenty of cold-thinking NFL contract negotiators who would agree with the Bears' assessment of Urlacher's market value. From a detached and unemotional standpoint, you can make a quite reasonable argument that it was time for the Bears to move on. Urlacher was slowed by knee and hamstring injuries last year, will be 35 in May and is at his best in a defense the Bears won't be running in 2013.

But when you're talking about a franchise icon, the rules aren't quite as clear. Feelings would have been hurt no matter how the Bears proceeded. The Bears tried to slow-burn Urlacher's departure out of respect for him, but in the end he grew suspicious and is now hammering the franchise in public forums.

Quite frankly, the only smooth path to an NFL divorce is for a player to retire. More often, players want to continue their careers beyond the plans of their original team. Urlacher said Thursday that he wants to play another two or three years, and that left the Bears with several dicey choices. None of them were right or wrong. But one thing is clear: The one they chose didn't sit well with the player.

Chicago Bears tight end/fullback Evan Rodriguez was arrested in Miami Beach, Fla., and charged with resisting an officer without violence and disorderly intoxication, a Miami Beach detective confirmed to ESPNChicago.com.

Read the entire story.

CHICAGO -- Well, I guess the face of the Chicago Bears is now that guy with the glowering mug and mussed-up hair.

No longer is it the guy with the glowering mug and the bald dome.

It went official Wednesday evening, the moment some thought would never come, at least until next year. The face of the franchise, a designation that implies a mixture of experience and respect, Brian Urlacher is gone, a victim of his own pride over what he called "somewhat" of face-slap of a contract offer.

This wasn't a surprise but it's jarring to think about a Bears team without their middle linebacker. Feel free to take some time to drink in his career. Urlacher was the heir to a rich tradition of middle linebacker, the next generation of Butkus and Singletary. He was ornery and violent and liked to have a good time, and maybe he was a bit of a meathead. He was not a poet in cleats.

Read the entire story.

ESPN Chicago 1000's Jeff Dickerson and Jonathan Hood talked with several former Bears and others Wednesday to get their reaction to the Bears parting ways with Brian Urlacher.

ESPN Chicago's Tom Waddle says the Urlacher news is an NFL reality but he is surprised they couldn't work out a deal.



Former Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer says he's not surprised Urlacher won't return but he was caught off guard by the manner in which the Bears announced the news.



Former Bears linebacker Rosevelt Colvin says it's unfortunate a legendary figure like Urlacher can't finish his career with the Bears.



ESPN.com's John Clayton says the Bears' offer of $2 million to Urlacher was embarrassing.



Click here for more audio from ESPN Chicago.

PHOENIX -- The Chicago Bears' chairman wanted Brian Urlacher back in 2013. So did the Bears' coaching staff. So why did the team announce Wednesday evening that it was unable to reach a contract agreement with Urlacher, presumably ending his 13-year tenure with the team?

Let's go back to the place we started this conversation in January. If there were ever a time to make a clean break from a franchise player, it's during the kind of transition the Bears are experiencing. The arrival of new coach Marc Trestman, and the breakup of a defensive scheme that extended back almost a decade, provided a logical and relatively controversy-free departure point for an icon in the twilight of his career.

The way I see it, if you're going to have a transition year, you might as well pile on as many of the changes as you can for the foreseeable future. A "transition year" doesn't necessarily have to be a "rebuilding year," but the Bears were already going to be dealing with change in 2013. The faster you deal with it, the quicker you can move forward.

If anything, I've been surprised at how far the Bears took this process. I envisioned them emerging from their pre-combine organizational meetings and informing Urlacher they would be moving on. Clearly, however, Trestman and his staff got a look at the Bears' depth -- or lack thereof -- and realized there could be some short-term pain associated with Urlacher's departure. Earlier Wednesday, I wondered if Trestman wanted Urlacher back to serve as a quasi-mediator between the new coaching staff and the locker room upon which he held a solid grip.

Coaches, of course, are trained to value today and tomorrow -- not next year and beyond. It's the job of the Bears' front office, and especially general manger Phil Emery, to consider the bigger picture. And it's clear, no matter what might be said publicly, that the Bears wanted to jump-start the process of rebuilding a linebacker corps that has remained largely intact for years.

How do you navigate the complex issue of nudging out a franchise icon who still wants to play, while also juggling the short-term desires of the coaching staff and the wishes -- detached or otherwise -- of ownership? You make an offer that you're pretty sure will be refused.

I'm not a mind-reader. I can't tell you for sure that Emery followed that a strategy that has been used many other times in NFL history. But the outside clues sure do suggest it. Urlacher, in fact, told Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune that he received a take-it-or-leave-it one-year contract offer worth a maximum of $2 million.

You and I might agree that's a reasonable value for a middle linebacker with a balky knee and 13 NFL seasons of wear on his body. But it represented about a 75 percent pay cut from Urlacher's 2012 compensation, a drop that few Hall of Fame players would agree to. Urlacher told the Tribune it was "a slap in the face." For context, consider that the Baltimore Ravens paid now-retired middle linebacker Ray Lewis $4.95 million to play his 17th and final season in 2012.

And before you bring it up, let's not blame the Bears' tight salary-cap situation for this decision. Urlacher's cap figure wouldn't have been any more than $2 million in 2013 under that offer. If they wanted, the Bears could have used any number of salary cap tricks to maintain that figure while offering Urlacher more cash. They didn't. They wanted him back only on the terms of a clearance sale -- if at all.

Let's be clear: There will be short-term pain that will follow this decision. The Bears must replace not only Urlacher but also strong-side linebacker Nick Roach, who signed with the Oakland Raiders, at the same time.

In a best-case scenario, the Bears will open the season with one of the draft's top middle linebackers -- perhaps Georgia's Alec Ogletree or even Notre Dame's Manti Te'o -- in the starting lineup. It might take several offseasons to reassemble a credible group of starting linebackers.

In the end, the Bears had ignored this pending transition long enough. Ideally, they would have had an heir on the roster already to take Urlacher's job. Now, they have an urgency that no NFL team prefers. But if not now, when? The urgency would only increase.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bears have offered Carolina Panthers free agent cornerback Captain Munnerlyn a one-year contract, according to a report in the Charlotte Observer.

Read the entire story.