Chicago Sun-Times

Bears sign draft picks Jordan Mills, Cornelius Washington

Wed, 01 May 2013 18:54:18 -0500

Two down, four more to go. The Bears are wasting little time reaching deals with their 2013 draft class, announcing they’ve agreed to terms with offensive tackle Jordan Mills and defensive end Cornelius Washington on four-year contracts on Wednesday. Mills and Washington are the first draft picks this year to sign with their respective teams. Bears first-round pick Kyle Long, a guard from Oregon, remains unsigned. Deals also need to be reached with linebackers Jon Bostic (Florida) and Khaseem Greene (Rutgers) and receiver Marquess Wilson (Washington State). Mills (6-5, 316 pounds) was selected out of Louisiana Tech with the 163rd …

MORRISSEY: Heredity made Long easy choice for Bears

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:19:08 -0500

I don’t want to minimize the work that Bears general manager Phil Emery and his staff did in preparation for the draft, the hours they put in and their lack of anything resembling a personal life the last year or so. But there’s no way in the world the Bears would have used their first-round pick on a guy with four college starts if his name had been Kyle Doe, Kyle Smith or Kyle Short. Or, to put it another way, if an inexperienced but hugely talented athlete named Kyle Elway were draft-eligible, they would have given him a long …

Bears sign draft picks Jordan Mills, Cornelius Washington

Wed, 01 May 2013 18:54:18 -0500

Bears’ NFC North rivals play numbers game in draft

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:19:19 -0500

More picks make for more room for error. It’s a luxury the NFC North champion Green Bay Packers had again this year and one that continues to elude Phil Emery and Co. How much so? The Bears entered Day 3 of the draft with three picks, while the Packers had 10 to maneuver their way around, which they did. Seeing NFC North teams get more players in the draft has been a predicament Emery has faced in his two years in charge. He’ll spend this week looking at what they did. “We’ll evaluate where we’re at in relationship to the …

Mistakes, tough love put new Bear Kyle Long on path to NFL

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 22:02:10 -0500

Kyle Long took a detour on the road toward becoming the Bears’ first-round draft pick. He was living an idyllic childhood — the son of a famous, wealthy Hall of Fame football player, he grew up comfortably near Charlottesville, Va. — and was a star in both baseball and football. And baseball was his first love. But he had a football future whether he knew it or not.

Bostic, Greene thrilled to be joining the Bears’ legacy of linebackers

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:53:35 -0500

Outside linebacker Khaseem Greene knows the history. He knows the names. He knows the legends. Butkus. Singletary. Urlacher. Briggs. “I’m coming into a great situation at basically the NFL equivalent of ‘Linebacker U.’,” Greene said Saturday, referring to the Penn State nickname, after the Bears selected the Rutgers star in the fourth round with the 117th selection. The Bears were thrilled to be able to add two versatile, highly regarded linebackers in Greene and Florida middle linebacker Jon Bostic (50th overall) after a relatively tumultuous offseason that saw them part ways with Brian Urlacher. Linebacker wasn’t just a need. It …

A capsule look at Saturday’s draft picks

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 22:02:10 -0500

FOURTH ROUND KHASEEM GREENE, LB, Rutgers 6-0 1/2 241 Elizabeth, N.J. Background: A starting safety in 2009, Greene moved to outside linebacker in 2010 and was twice named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Set an NCAA record with 15 career forced fumbles. Emery’s take: ‘‘With the style of defense we played, our eyebrows went up [when he was available]. Here’s a guy that really fits what we’re trying to do.’’ FIFTH ROUND JORDAN MILLS, OT, Louisiana Tech 6-5 316 Napoleonville, La. Background: A full-time starter for two years, Mills made big strides as a senior. He has …

From mistake to the lake: Bears grab notorious WR Marquess Wilson in 7th round

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 22:02:10 -0500

The Bears traded down in the fifth round for a roll of the dice in the seventh. After moving down 10 spots in the fifth round to acquire the Atlanta Falcons’ seventh-round pick, the Bears took Washington State wide receiver Marquess Wilson, who quit his college team last season over alleged physical and mental abuse by coach Mike Leach. He later recanted those charges. Wilson was considered a possible first- or second-round pick after setting school records with 82 receptions for 1,388 yards (16.9 per catch) and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2011. He had 52 receptions for 813 …

Kyle Long says he will put in the time and effort to earn starting guard spot

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 02:11:19 -0500

Kyle Long estimates that his football IQ was a “zero” when he first arrived at Oregon. “I had never been exposed to terminology,” Long said. At first, Long, whom the Bears selected with the 20th overall selection in this year’s draft, didn’t want to say anything. He never raised his hand. He never asked a question. But Long knew that had to change. “I couldn’t draw an under-and-over front until halfway through the season, and I never wanted to speak up about it because I didn’t want coach to think I was an idiot,” Long said Friday at Halas Hall. …

Second-round pick Jonathan Bostic not worried about filling Brian Urlacher’s shoes

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 02:11:33 -0500

Pressure? What pressure? Jonathan Bostic doesn’t see any when it comes to potentially being the replacement for longtime linebacker Brian Urlacher. Bostic, a middle linebacker from Florida whom the Bears took with the No. 50 selection, sees a chance to learn from a future Hall of Famer, even if it’s just by watching film. “It’s not pressure at all to me,” Bostic said Friday. “It’s more of a guy that I can pretty much watch and learn a lot of things from on film. [The Bears defense is] going to keep a lot of the scheme and the terminology the …

New Charger Manti Te’o says first-round snub will ‘‘put a huge fire under my butt.’’

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 02:11:43 -0500

After a day of nothing but disappointment, Manti Te’o finally came off the board. And he’s off to southern California. After not getting drafted in the first round, Te’o, Notre Dame’s scrutinized middle linebacker, was taken by the San Diego Chargers with the No. 38 selection. The Chargers actually made a move with the Arizona Cardinals to move up from the No. 45 spot to grab him. Te’o was widely projected to go in the first round. Many anticipated that the Bears or the Minnesota Vikings would take him in the first round. But both passed on Te’o, whose draft …