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Bears need helping hands :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears

Bears need helping hands
 If Berrian doesn't stay, Bradley would be most experienced WR


February 20, 2008
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs at suntimes.com

Emerging from the fallout of Black Monday, when the Bears parted ways
with three veteran starters, is the pressing need for the team to
overhaul its wide receiver corps.

Of course, there's also the matter of who will be throwing the ball to
the receivers in 2008, but finding players to catch those passes is a
top priority and one of the reasons the Bears offered a contract to
Bernard Berrian -- a proposal he's said to be less than thrilled with
as free agency looms.

» Click to enlarge image
Bears wide receiver Mark Bradley
(Tom Cruze/Sun-Times file)


RELATED STORIES Inside the Bears: Updates from our blog

''I'm not going to get into any of that,'' agent Drew Rosenhaus said
when asked if the Bears' offers to his clients -- Berrian, linebacker
Lance Briggs, defensive tackle Tommie Harris and special-teamer
Brendon Ayanbadejo -- were serious. ''My negotiations are going to be
completely private, and they're not going to involve the media.''

General manager Jerry Angelo is trying to complete the bulk of his
free-agent shopping before the market opens at 11 p.m. on Feb. 28.
He's expected to meet with agent Eugene Parker as soon as Thursday in
Indianapolis to discuss a deal for quarterback Rex Grossman. Angelo
isn't promising him a job, and if the team doesn't re-sign Grossman,
Kyle Orton is expected to be atop the depth chart this spring.

By cutting wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad, right tackle Fred Miller and
defensive tackle Darwin Walker, the Bears created a salary-cap savings
of $10,413,440, giving them roughly $30 million in room to re-sign
their players. A small portion of that money was earmarked for
defensive end Alex Brown, who received a $5 million bonus when he
signed a two-year extension Tuesday. The rest of Brown's $15.5 million
in new money must be earned in 2010 and 2011.

Mark Bradley, Devin Hester, Mike Hass and Brandon Rideau are the only
wide receivers under contract. They combined for 26 receptions and
three touchdowns last season. The Bears have high hopes that Hester
will have a breakout season, and Angelo remains a staunch Bradley
supporter, but his three years have been punctuated by injuries more
than anything else.

''The way I look at it now, it's just working hard, proving myself all
over again,'' Bradley said. ''I once was [a starter], and I've proven
that I can be. It's just getting an opportunity to show that.''

Bradley made four of his six catches in the last five games. He was
plagued at the end of training camp by a sore knee, and when
questioned about Bradley's status at the start of the season, coach
Lovie Smith said it was pretty simple: Bradley was fifth on the depth
chart. He's expected to be much higher than that when the offseason
program begins, but if he's the most experienced wideout on the roster
at that time, it will be viewed as a potential disaster for an offense
that was ineffective last season.

Speaking on WMVP-AM (1000), Muhammad seemed almost happy with his
freedom after a disappointing season in which he had only 40
receptions, his fewest since 1997. He said he saw the writing on the
wall as he gradually was phased out.

''If you've been around in this league long enough, you kind of see
how things work,'' Muhammad said. ''Throughout the course of the
season, without being utilized as much as I expected ... I kind of saw
things coming that there would be a transition from older guys to
younger guys.

''Wherever I land, I will be used a lot more, and my production will
go back to where it was before I came to Chicago.''

Muhammad earned $16.27 million in three seasons with the Bears and had
164 receptions for 2,183 yards and 12 touchdowns. He had 1,405 yards
and 16 touchdowns in '04 in Carolina to earn the big payday.

Whether Berrian is the next one to take a big payout from the team
remains to be seen. Otherwise, it might be Bradley's show.