[CBFF] Bears lose TE John Gilmore to Bucs :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears - Sent Using Google Toolbar

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Bears lose TE John Gilmore to Bucs :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears

Bears lose TE John Gilmore to Bucs



February 29, 2008
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs at suntimes.com

 The Bears have lost their first player in free agency.

 Tight end John Gilmore is at the airport in Philadelphia headed to
Tampa, Fla., where he will sign a three-year contract with the
Buccaneers tonight.

 The Bears negotiated with Gilmore's agent this week and went
back-and-forth but their offer did not measure up after Tampa Bay
coach Jon Gruden called Gilmore this morning at 12:15.

 ``I was asleep and I really was not expecting to hear anything until
the weekend,'' Gilmore said. ``My agent called me after 11 and woke me
up. He said he had thrown a number out at Tampa Bay and they were
going to get right back to him.

 ``The next thing I know I was on the phone with Gruden. He told me,
`I don't think you realize how excited we are to have you. You
definitely figure into what we're doing, we're going to get you very
involved in a lot of two-tight end sets.' He wants me to do what I do
and it sounds like I'll get to catch more footballs. He was a little
bit more fired up than I probably sounded at the time.''

 The terms of he deal brokered by agent Chafie Fields are not yet
known, but the Bears' offer never went above the minimum salary for
each season with a marginal signing bonus. They had hoped to retain
him after extending the contract of Desmond Clark earlier in the week,
and Gilmore said last weekend that he hoped to remain a Bear. Gilmore
had been in close contact with tight ends coach Rob Boras, and said
Fields gave the team a deadline of Thursday to make something happen.
Now, the Bears can add a blocking tight end to their long list of
needs on offense.

 Gilmore was with the Bears for six seasons and was attractive to the
Bucs because he has only missed two games in the last five years. He
has 21 career receptions in 86 games with three touchdowns. Gilmore
has been a productive special teams player also.

 ``I'm pumped up,'' he said. ``Free agency is one of those things
where the unknown kills you. You're waiting around and the fact that
it hit when it did, it's great. The one team I was most interested in
stepped up to the plate and this is a no-brainer. I'm not going there
to visit. I'm going to sign. I enjoyed my time im Chicago. The city
and the fans always embraced me and I wish them well. I'm going to
keep doing what I do. I'm just glad I've got something done.''

 Wide receiver Bernard Berrian is in danger of leaving also. He is in
Minnesota where the Vikings could press him to sign a huge contract
today.