[CBFF] ST - A win and a loss

[Jerry Madsen]

A win and a loss
Bears re-sign Briggs, but Berrian bolts to Vikes

March 2, 2008
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs at suntimes.com
If you judge the Bears' success in free agency Saturday, it's a win
from the standpoint the player they were able to keep is a decorated
All-Pro.

Three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs agreed to the team's
standing offer of a $36 million, six-year contract Saturday night,
hours after wide receiver Bernard Berrian ran an out pattern to the
Minnesota Vikings. Berrian will receive $1 million more per season in
a blockbuster $42 million, six-year package. While the Bears have a
void on offense at receiver, a pillar of their defense remains in
place. It's an important signing with health concerns about Brian
Urlacher's putting his long-term future in question after minor neck
surgery and an ongoing back issue.

» Click to enlarge image Lance Briggs has re-signed the Bears'
standing offer of a $36 million, six-year contract. Wide receiver
Bernard Berrian has bolted to the Minnesota Vikings for a $42 million
per season, six-year package.
(AP, Tom Cruze/Sun-Times)

RELATED STORIESMariotti: Briggs a coup, but who catches the ball? Bye
bye, Berrian Inside the Bears: Updates from our blog

The Bears entered the NFL shopping season hopeful of retaining one of
their stars and their chances for both improved when the players went
into Day 2 still seeking deals. The Vikings dramatically stepped up
their pursuit of Berrian at their Winter Park, Minn., facility. Agent
Drew Rosenhaus presented the final numbers to the Bears, including $16
million guaranteed, and they passed on the receiver who is coming off
a career-high season with 71 receptions for 951 yards.

''I really saw my role expanding here as opposed to being in
Chicago,'' Berrian said in a news conference. ''You've got to cut
ties. I'm going to miss Chicago.''

Berrian entered free agency hoping to land $24.5 million over the
first three years of a deal with an annual average of $8 million.

He came close. He'll be paid $23 million over the first three seasons.
He was a hotter commodity than expected with Minnesota sending owner
Zygi Wilf's private jet for him the minute free agency opened.

The Bears never upped their offer of $25 million over five seasons
with $8 million to sign, but interest from Oakland fueled the Vikings'
bid. The Bears cannot be too upset given that Berrian has never made a
Pro Bowl or even been mentioned as a potential alternate.

Perhaps the Vikings were thinking they were doing harm to an NFC North
rival while filling a position of need as they hope to reduce the
number of eight-man fronts vs. running back Adrian Peterson. But
Tarvaris Jackson remains under center for Minnesota, and arguably he
is a worse option than the Bears' choices of Rex Grossman and Kyle
Orton.

The most curious element of free agency was that a market for Briggs
never materialized. He was the Bears' franchise player a year ago and
expected to be the No. 1 target on the market. Teams such as
Washington, San Francisco, Cleveland, Tampa Bay and New Orleans never
stepped up for his services, leaving him to go back to the Bears with
the deal they originally proposed.

One prominent agent joked early Saturday the Bears should reduce their
offer to him, but the team felt they presented him a good contract
that he deserves and wanted him to know it stood by him. Briggs has
been upset throughout his career he wasn't drafted higher than the
third round, and now he can have something else to prove to the 31
teams that passed on him again.

Briggs will receive $13 million guaranteed and $21.6 million over the
first three years of the contract, the average of what he earned last
season with the franchise tag. That total four-year total is
consistent with what linebacker Adalius Thomas received last year from
New England.

''At the end of the day, it's very difficult to leave your team,''
Rosenhaus said. ''Lance was very frustrated when he got the franchise
tag and there was all this speculation about other teams, but he has
always enjoyed being a Bear.''

The Bears also have made the decision to start throwing more to Devin
Hester. Money, that is. The team has held informal discussions with
Hester's agent, Eugene Parker, about a new deal and it will move to
the forefront along with efforts to extend the contracts of defensive
tackle Tommie Harris, kicker Robbie Gould and, potentially, defensive
end Mark Anderson. The idea is to ensure young core players are in
place well beyond 2010.

''The next major target [Harris] is in our immediate future,'' said
Rosenhaus, who represents him. ''I don't want to get into too much
detail, but he is very important.''

General manager Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith believe Hester has
the skills to develop into a No. 1 receiver, something the team never
considered Berrian to be. His signing coupled with Cleveland's
acquisition of Donte Stallworth began a domino effect for available
receivers. Bryant Johnson will arrive in Buffalo today for a visit and
the Bears consider him a young Muhsin Muhammad who could be a ''Z''
receiver. They remain in contact with agent Joel Segal. Javon Walker
is generating solid interest and Drew Carter, D.J. Hackett and David
Patten are possibilities with the team expected to make receiver a
higher priority in the draft. Carter will visit Oakland today before a
trip to Tampa Bay.

The Bears also discussed Pro Bowl special teams player Brendon
Ayanbadejo with Rosenhaus. While Ayanbadejo would like to remain, he
hopes to find a team interested in using him more at linebacker.