Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Chicago's Roach issue
By Tim Kavanagh
Much of the attention on the Chicago Bears' linebacking corps this offseason has centered around impending free agent MLB Brian Urlacher. This makes sense; No. 54 is a franchise icon, and if he isn't re-signed, it'll be a disaster from a public relations standpoint. But he's not the only Chicago starter at LB set to hit the free agent market -- there's also SLB Nick Roach.
Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com reports, via a league source, that the Bears are going to make a push to re-sign Roach. Though specific contract numbers have not been discussed, the Bears have expressed to Roach that they are interested in continuing their business relationship with him into 2013.
That makes sense, but there is also a slight problem if Chicago brings back Urlacher, Roach and other internal free agents (most notably DT Henry Melton):
Kevin Seifert
What about those changes?"Limited salary-cap space has prevented the Bears from making hard offers, according to Dickerson. But if they bring back both Urlacher and Roach, it is hard to envision the Bears conducting the kind of full-scale defensive overhaul this offseason that we once considered possible."
