Bears look for status quo in '07
Nineteen of the 22 starters are under contract for 2007, and the Bears are expected to place a franchise tag on weak-side linebacker Lance Briggs before the Feb. 22 deadline. That leaves only left guard Ruben Brown and defensive tackle Ian Scott as potential unrestricted free agents.
Brown, 34, has made clear his desire to return, but the 12-year veteran said he would reconsider if he finally became a Super Bowl champion. He is headed to the Pro Bowl this week for the ninth time in what could be a Hall of Fame career. Brown was a bargain this season at $1.5 million, and a source said the team also has expressed its desire to bring him back.
Scott played well down the stretch after Tommie Harris was lost to season-ending hamstring surgery. He bounced back from an inauspicious start to the season that saw coach Lovie Smith pull his starting job from him and then relegate him to street clothes for the Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills.
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But Briggs is the most pressing need. The franchise-tag figure will be $7.206 million. Some have made a big deal about Briggs being represented by agent Drew Rosenhaus and how that could affect things in terms of a potential holdout. Rosenhaus has had clients play with the tag before, notably running back Edgerrin James when he was with the Indianapolis Colts.
''Lance and I thought it was best to play out the contract,'' Rosenhaus said of the decision to pass on a six-year offer worth roughly $33 million last April.
''God bless him, he's had one of the great years. We made a good decision, and now people are patting us on the back for making it. We will make it work.''
Whether the group that put the team together stays together remains less clear. The Bears have allowed more free agents to develop in the front office and on the coaching staff than on the roster.
EARLY NIGHT: The Bears' game plan coming in was to wear down the Colts with their two-headed running attack. They had to do it with one after Cedric Benson injured his left knee at the end of the first quarter.
The second-year back, whose role had expanded in the last two months, fumbled on his first carry after being hit by safety Bob Sanders, with Dwight Freeney recovering. It was Benson's first fumble of the season, and the Bears were able to survive the turnover by forcing the Colts to punt.
Benson was back on the field to start the next drive and was injured on the first carry when he fell over left tackle John Tait and was hit in the head by safety Antoine Bethea. At the same time, linebacker Cato June bent Benson's left leg back after he appeared to be down, injuring the knee and knocking him out of the game.
''It happened so quick,'' said Benson, who called it a sprained MCL. ''If that's the case [that June bent his leg], then that is unfortunate.''
Benson is scheduled to undergo an MRI on the knee Tuesday. Structural tests were performed and the injury is not expected to be serious, but the team wants confirmation.
POCKET CHANGE: Bears quarterback Rex Grossman picked up some money to tide him over until agent Eugene Parker can hammer out a long-term extension. Grossman's contract is expected to be a key to the offseason, even though it might take until summer to get it done. He is set to be a free agent after 2007.
By starting in the Super Bowl, he earned a $500,000 bonus from his rookie contract. He also got $500,000 for playing in the NFC title game, adding considerably to his base pay for this season of $625,000.
Parker told the Sun-Times he would wait until after the season to discuss the situation with Grossman.
INACTIVES: Linebacker Leon Joe, who was held out of the first two playoff games and four of the final five regular-season games, got the nod on special teams for the Super Bowl. As reported in the Sun-Times on Saturday, Joe was selected to replace Rod Wilson, who pulled a hamstring in practice Friday.
Along with Wilson, inactive Bears were wide receiver Justin Gage, safeties Tyler Everett and Nick Turnbull, fullback J.D. Runnels, center Anthony Oakley and defensive tackle Antonio Garay. The third quarterback was Kyle Orton.
EXTRA POINTS: Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri called tails on the coin toss, but it turned up heads. It was the 10th consecutive year the NFC won the toss. Honorary captains for the flip were Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino and Norma Hunt, wife of the late Kansas City Chiefs owner and AFL founder, Lamar Hunt.
• • Devin Hester's 92-yard touchdown was the first opening-kickoff return for a score in Super Bowl history and the fastest score.
• • Vinatieri's wide-left miss of a 36-yard field-goal try on the final play of the first half was his first miss this postseason. He had connected on 11 straight.
• The Super Bowl heads to Glendale, Ariz., next year to highlight the Cardinals' new stadium. It will be the second Super Bowl in the Phoenix area. Super Bowl XXX was played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.