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Bears should realize Urlacher merits raise

David Haugh

On the Bears

 February 24, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS



By the time coach Lovie Smith finished talking about Brian Urlacher
the other day, you might have thought the Bears linebacker had minor
neck surgery to remove a tattoo instead of to correct nerve damage.

 Smith pointed out Urlacher's outstanding play over the final month
and even felt comfortable enough about his player's health to crack a
rare joke.

 "Brian's not going to the nursing home for about 10 more years,"
Smith said. "He will be fine."

 General manager Jerry Angelo later reiterated that organizational optimism.

 But nothing would prove how much the Bears believe that doubts about
their aging star are misplaced like a new contract for Urlacher, a
possibility that is on Angelo's radar.

 Forget about showing us the MRIs: Show him the money.

 Unless the Bears take action to back up their hopeful words, many
will wonder about Urlacher's ability to return to normal. And many
will wonder if the Bears really wonder too.

 Now that the Rex Grossman deal is done, is it a crazy idea for the
Bears to extend the contract of an arthritic thirtysomething
linebacker coming off neck surgery?

 Not if they want to keep their franchise player happy before he
starts grumbling about being unappreciated and underpaid with a
contract that is as outdated as a dial-up modem.

 Not when they have more than $30 million available under the salary cap.

 Not if they really are serious about the new approach they claim to
be taking to shape their roster this off-season.

 According to that approach, intangibles suddenly count more than ever
at Halas Hall.

 This development came up the other day when Angelo was explaining the
team's shift in evaluating prospects that began — not coincidentally —
shortly after they took Cedric Benson with the fourth pick of the 2005
NFL draft.

 "Two years ago a little light went off, and we're analyzing things a
little differently," Angelo said.

 As an example, Angelo also referred to the Bears' recent contract
extension for Alex Brown. In giving Brown a $5 million bonus and
extending his contract two years, the Bears basically rewarded the
defensive end for responding to a demotion with more effort than
insolence.

 "He forgot himself for others … that's a team player," Angelo said.
"We want our players to see that it's important to us. It's not just
lip service."

 Don't be surprised if the Bears eventually put their money where
their mouths are concerning tight end Desmond Clark and kicker Robbie
Gould too. Both players have a year remaining on their contracts and
are underpaid given their production over the last two seasons.

 Clark, one of the team's most reliable threats in the passing game,
made a bigger impression on management for the way he mentored
first-round pick Greg Olsen rather than viewing him as a threat. He is
to make $1 million in the final year of his deal.

 Gould should be in line for a raise similar to the one Giants kicker
Lawrence Tynes got when he signed a five-year, $7 million deal. At
$460,000 this season, Gould rates as one of the best kicking values in
the league.

 Urlacher might be an even bigger bargain when evaluating his career as a whole.

 Eight teammates earned more money than he did in 2007, according to
salary and bonus information available through the NFL Players
Association. There were 11 linebackers in the league with higher base
salaries in '07 than Urlacher's $3.95 million. He is scheduled to make
the same salary next season.

 The Bears are well aware of the notion Urlacher is relatively
underpaid and have been open to discussing a new contract. Now is an
ideal time to pull the trigger, before free agency produces a new
round of headlines of defensive players getting richer than Urlacher.
He is bound to notice.

 A guy who offered to delay any contract demands in 2006 so more cash
would be available for Lance Briggs eventually might run out of
patience. A guy who played through arthritic back pain one day might
start to consider everyone else in the locker room getting new money
as he's getting a pain in the neck.

 At what point does Urlacher point out to the Bears' front office
that, given NFL inflation, he has outperformed the $13 million bonus
he received in 2003 when he signed a nine-year, $57 million deal?

 The Bears would have to agree with that assessment, given their
well-documented belief Urlacher is one of the top three middle
linebackers in the league.

 Is he? That's beside the point. The point the Bears could make in
giving Urlacher some new money would be similar to the one they made
in giving Olin Kreutz a new deal in 2006.

 It might help assuage a locker room that could start to wonder about
its front office if free agents Briggs and Bernard Berrian bolt to
greener pastures elsewhere. It might make the type of statement the
Bears were hoping to make by giving Brown a $5 million bag of money
and offering company man Tommie Harris a contract extension.

 Most of all, a new contract for Urlacher would assure everybody the
Bears have more invested in his healthy outlook than a couple of
Pollyanna-like predictions.

 dhaugh at tribune.com

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