Did the Bears help themselves at receiver with the signings of Marty Booker and Brandon Lloyd? That's still a huge question. As expected, the market for wide receivers was going to be thin after the Bears' losses of Muhsin Muhammad and Bernard Berrian. With the Bears not making a move on Jevon Walker, their efforts had to be patchwork, and that is the appearance of what they did with the additions of Booker and Lloyd. Booker signed a two-year deal for about $3 million. Lloyd, the former Redskin, signed a one-year contract. With Rex Grossman also on a one-year deal, the Bears' offense is in transition. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner stands by Lloyd, whom he coached at Illinois. Lloyd was a bust as a restricted free agent signing. If the offense doesn't come together quickly next season, the offense have another overhaul in 2009.
The other interesting aspect about the changes to the Bears offense is what might happen at tackle. The Bears would be a strong candidate to draft a starting offensive tackle in the first round. They cut right tackle Fred Miller, but they have the flexibility to play John Tait at right or left tackle. The Bears could move guard Terrence Metcalf from guard to tackle if necessary. Odds favor them getting a tackle early in the draft.
Jones hurting his cause: Pacman Jones is clearly going to be traded by the Titans once he is reinstated by the league. Jones' suspension is indefinite and his attorney is going to try to push to get something done around the draft. If Jones is going to go to a new team, he would need minicamps and training camp to get ready for the season. The problem with Jones coming out on radio and pushing for trades to teams like Dallas is that it doesn't help his cause. Jones clearly wants to play but he also needs to behave and be quiet. On suspension, he is not dealing from a position of strength.
On chopping block: With deals to acquire T.J. Duckett and Julius Jones in the backfield, the Seahawks will have to do something with Shaun Alexander. Cutting or trading him doesn't have much of an impact on the cap. They would lose $150,000 of cap room by trading him. If they put the June 1 cut on him, they would save $4.475 million of cap room. That might be the best option. Before the Jones signing, the Seahawks had around $4 million of cap room. With more than $9 million of the cap being eaten up by Marcus Trufant's franchise tag, the release of Alexander might serve them better. It will be hard to get great trade value for him with his contract.
One interesting option for Alexander could be the Cincinnati Bengals. Alexander grew up in Florence, Ky., and has already been popular around Cincinnati. For years, there were plenty of rumors that the Bengals might try to acquire him in a trade. Rudi Johnson didn't have his best season last year and backup Chris Perry has been hurt for years. If he's released, the Bengals might be an intriguing option for the former league MVP.
Done deal: The Lions appear to have locked up right tackle George Foster to a one-year, $1.1 million deal. The Lions lost Damian Woody to the Jets and they had hoped to bring him back at right tackle. They had been talking to L.J. Shelton, who remains an option. Foster comes in at a nice price and has starting experience at right tackle.
John Clayton
