Bears making waves on first day of free agency

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="99%"><TBODY><TR><TD width="100%">Lake Forest, IL (Sports Network) - The Chicago Bears have scheduled a press conference on Friday afternoon, at which time they are expected to introduce their newest free agent acquisitions.</TD></TR><TR><TD width="100%"> </TD></TR><TR><TD width="100%">Reports indicate the team has agreed to long-term deals with defensive end Julius Peppers, running back Chester Taylor and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna.
According to ESPN, Peppers has agreed to terms on a six-year contract that could be worth as much as $40 million during the first half of the deal. The 30-year-old is coming off a season with Carolina in which he played under the franchise tender, recording 10 1/2 sacks, two interceptions, five forced fumbles and a touchdown in 16 games.
Peppers, who was the second overall pick of the 2002 NFL Draft out of North Carolina, has spent his entire eight-year career with the Panthers. He missed only six regular season games during his stint with Carolina and has reached double-digits in sacks six times.
Widely viewed as the marquee free agent of this offseason, Peppers has totaled 81 sacks, six interceptions, 30 forced fumbles and two touchdowns in 122 regular season games.
Taylor, also 30, reportedly signed a four-year deal worth $12.5 million, with $7 million guaranteed, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The Toledo product recently finished his fourth season in Minnesota and third straight as the backup to two-time All-Pro Adrian Peterson. He ran for 338 yards on 94 carries last season and caught 44 passes for 389 yards, totaling two touchdowns.
His best season came in 2006, when he was the primary back for the Vikings. In 15 games, Taylor carried the ball 303 times for 1,216 yards -- both career- highs -- and ran for six scores. Through 123 regular season games in eight seasons with Minnesota and Baltimore, the durable Taylor has totaled 4,396 rushing yards, 2,094 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns.
Manumaleuna, who turned 30 in January, has apparently agreed to terms on a five-year contract as per the Chicago Tribune. Manumaleuna spent the past four years with the San Diego Chargers after playing his first five seasons with the St. Louis Rams. His first head coach in the NFL was Mike Martz, who is the Bears' new offensive coordinator.
The Arizona product is mostly known as a run blocker. He had just five catches for 13 yards last season and has caught only 110 passes for 965 yards with 12 touchdowns in his nine-year career.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Too bad they gave Cutler that extension otherwise they could have been serious contenders coming out of free agency

Grasping at straws.

I guess 30 is the new 25.

D2bets said:

I guess 30 is the new 25.

Click to expand...

True. Do like the Taylor signing.

They are looking Better, that's for sure.

Betallsports said:

They are looking Better, that's for sure.

Click to expand...

Without a 1st and 2nd draft pick, they had to do something.

The Bears are still the Packers bitch ~~:<<

Gravy said:

The Bears are still the Packers bitch ~~:<<

Click to expand...

!~~~!

Bears win Julius Peppers sweepstakes.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP)—Julius Peppers is no longer a Carolina Panther.

The five-time Pro Bowl defensive end and top free agent prize agreed Friday to a six-year deal with the Chicago Bears, the biggest move on a day the team showed it’s intent on contending again after missing the playoffs the past three seasons.

Terms of Peppers’ deal were not released. Several outlets reported it was worth $72 million, with about $40 million coming in the first three years. The NFL Network, citing a source, reported the deal was for $79.8 million, with $40 million guaranteed in the first three seasons.

Peppers’ agent, Carl Carey, did not return messages left by The Associated Press.

Besides Peppers, the Bears lured running back Chester Taylor(notes) from NFC North champion Minnesota with a four-year contract and blocking tight end Brandon Manumaleuna(notes) from San Diego with a five-year deal. Taylor’s contract is worth $12.5 million with $7 million guaranteed, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiation. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.

By landing one of the league’s top pass rushers and a running back who could challenge incumbent Matt Forte(notes), Chicago showed just how serious it is about contending in the NFC after missing the playoffs the past three years.

General manager Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith are operating on a win-or-else mandate from above after a 7-9 season that left many in Chicago calling for sweeping changes.

A coaching staff shake-up that left the Bears with new offensive and defensive coordinators in Mike Martz and Rod Marinelli was just a start.
The signings on Friday do not guarantee a turnaround, as Bears fans learned last season after the trade with Denver for quarterback Jay Cutler(notes). Even so, the Bears did address some big needs, particularly on the defensive line.

The 6-foot-7 Peppers brings uncanny athletic ability and questionable consistency, along with the 81 sacks he collected in eight seasons with Carolina — 10 1/2 last year. In Chicago, he’ll get to play alongside Lance Briggs(notes), Brian Urlacher(notes) and Tommie Harris(notes), and give a much-needed boost to a defense that ranked 17th overall and tied for 13th in sacks with 35.

Peppers had been looking to get out of Carolina the past few years and he basically got his wish when the Panthers decided not to place the restrictive franchise tag on their career sacks leader for a second consecutive year at a cost of at least $20.1 million.

That decision ended two rocky years of negotiations between the Panthers and Peppers, who played at North Carolina and was drafted second overall by Carolina in 2002.

Peppers acknowledged in a radio interview last month that he turned down a contract offer after the 2007 season that would have made him the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player. A year later, the Panthers ignored his public pleas to be allowed to leave in free agency and slapped him with the franchise tag and a one-year, $16.7 million tender.

Peppers eventually softened his stance and began negotiating on a long-term contract. They couldn’t agree, and he wound up earning $18.2 million in 2009, including a $1.5 million bonus for making the Pro Bowl.

Taylor, meanwhile, backed up All-Pro Adrian Peterson in Minnesota. He’ll challenge for time in the Bears backfield after Chicago’s hallmark running game slipped last season, with Forte rushing for 929 yards after finishing with 1,238 as a rookie in 2008.

Taylor had 42 catches for 389 yards and 94 carries for 338 yards as a valuable third-down player for the Vikings. He rushed for 1,214 yards in 14 games in 2006 before Peterson arrived and reduced his role.

Yahoo Sports

I'm a huge Bears fan and am happy that they are trying to improve the team, but these moves have me scratching my head a bit. First, why did they sign Malumaleuna when they already have an up and coming TE in Greg Olson? If they dump Olson for a 4th round pick now, what did they really gain from this? Secondly, Chester Taylor is getting older and slower, and the Bears already have a good running back in Forte. So Chester Taylor is going to just play third downs for $7 million guaranteed. Finally, the big splash in Julius Peppers was the one move that probably makes sense so I'll give them credit there. The Bears have needed a big time pash rusher for years, and they now have their man. They might have slightly overpaid, but I'll take it.

So what about addressing the 2 biggest problem areas in 2009 - the offensive line (to keep Cutler off his ass) and wide receiver (so Cutler has someone to throw it to)? Hopefully they didn't spend all of their money already, because these are clearly much bigger problem areas than TE and RB were. Please Jerry Angelo, work on the weaknesses!

bears are buying EVERYTHING - give 'em two more days and they'll own Microsoft, Starbucks, AND Jerry Seinfeld

Waz said:

I'm a huge Bears fan and am happy that they are trying to improve the team, but these moves have me scratching my head a bit. First, why did they sign Malumaleuna when they already have an up and coming TE in Greg Olson? If they dump Olson for a 4th round pick now, what did they really gain from this? Secondly, Chester Taylor is getting older and slower, and the Bears already have a good running back in Forte. So Chester Taylor is going to just play third downs for $7 million guaranteed. Finally, the big splash in Julius Peppers was the one move that probably makes sense so I'll give them credit there. The Bears have needed a big time pash rusher for years, and they now have their man. They might have slightly overpaid, but I'll take it.

So what about addressing the 2 biggest problem areas in 2009 - the offensive line (to keep Cutler off his ass) and wide receiver (so Cutler has someone to throw it to)? Hopefully they didn't spend all of their money already, because these are clearly much bigger problem areas than TE and RB were. Please Jerry Angelo, work on the weaknesses!

Click to expand...

Agree with you here man... We seriously need O line help. I keep hearing that Martz can work with any WRs and thats BS. He was only brilliant when he had Bruce and Holt and guys like Hakim, not to mention Proehl and Hakim. I think the thought is that they might trade Olsen for a draft pick and grab an OL man. They probably think they can get better than a fourth rounder. I would hope he would be worth more than that.

basilesox said:

Agree with you here man... We seriously need O line help. I keep hearing that Martz can work with any WRs and thats BS. He was only brilliant when he had Bruce and Holt and guys like Hakim, not to mention Proehl and Hakim. I think the thought is that they might trade Olsen for a draft pick and grab an OL man. They probably think they can get better than a fourth rounder. I would hope he would be worth more than that.

Click to expand...

The only offer the Bears had was a 6th rounder for him. Not sure whe they dont convert Olsen to a WR, like a Ed McCaffery-type role.