[CBFF] CT: Vasher returning to Halas Hall

[Victor Waldron]

(Good news.....for now.)

Vasher returning to Halas Hall
CB tells teammates he'll resume activities
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter

June 18, 2006, 10:37 PM CDT

Nathan Vasher has told Bears teammates he will be at Halas Hall on
Monday to resume participating in organized team activities.

Vasher stopped attending the voluntary practices on June 8. Following
a season in which the cornerback intercepted eight passes and was a
second-team All-Pro, Vasher and his agent, Mike Sullivan, were upset
that general manager Jerry Angelo refused to discuss an extension on
Vasher's contract, which has two years and $900,000 remaining.

The Bears also recently signed cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. to a deal
that should pay him at least $9 million despite him being penciled in
as a backup.

Angelo told Vasher that the club doesn't renegotiate contracts of
players who have two years of NFL service.

Nevertheless, Sullivan sent the Bears a proposal Wednesday for a
one-year extension that would move Vasher from the 131st highest-paid
player at his position to 44th, leaving the existing two years
untouched.

Running back Thomas Jones and linebacker Lance Briggs also have left
the OTAs over dissatisfaction with their contracts. Coach Lovie Smith
demoted those players to second-team repetitions at the mandatory
mini-camp in early June, before Vasher's departure.

Angelo said last week that changing Vasher's contract could set a bad
precedent that strikes against the organization's salary-cap
management philosophy. Whether Vasher's return could change that is
unclear.