Bears Still Not Closing The Door On Brian Urlacher

Update:

Chicago Bears GM Phil Emery wouldn’t completely rule out the idea of re-signing LB Brian Urlacher on Tuesday, per Jeff Dickerson.

Emery added that they’re still focused on their current roster.

There’s been very little buzz surrounding Urlacher in recent weeks. Previous reports have indicated that Urlacher would still prefer to play for a contending team next season, but even owner George McCaskey wasn’t willing to rule out possibly bringing him back.

Chicago has already added linebackers D.J. Williams and James Anderson this offseason, so even if Urlacher were to return, it’s doubtful he would see as much playing time next season.

We have Urlacher listed as the No. 15 player in our Best Available Free Agents list.

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Update:

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that free agent LB Brian Urlacher has been in contact with a few “contenders” in recent weeks, but nothing is imminent at this point in time.

Florio adds that if something were to happen regarding Urlacher, “it likely won’t happen for a while.”

The Bears apparently haven’t completely closed the door on a potential return, but it appears as though Urlacher is willing to consider other opportunities with teams that have a better chance of competing for a Super Bowl title.

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Update:

Bears owner George McCaskey mentioned that they have reached out to free agent LB Brian Urlacher since the team announced that they were prepared to move on without him.

“I talked to him. He was very gracious,” McCaskey said, via the Chicago Sun Times. “I wanted to wait a little bit because I figured there would be a little emotion.”

McCaskey added that the decision to retain Urlacher is still up to GM Phil Emery and head coach Marc Trestman.

“Phil said it’s a process, and we just go through it and see what happens,” said McCaskey.

There has been a few reports of teams showing some interest in the idea of signing Urlacher, but there’s by no means a strong market for the future Hall-of-Famer. The additions of linebackers D.J. Williams and James Anderson would suggest that a return is unlikely, but I guess there’s at least a remote chance that the Bears could revisit the idea at some point.

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According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, a “few teams” have expressed interest in free agent L B Brian Urlacher.

Werder adds that “nothing is imminent” at this point in time and he currently has no visits setup with any team.

The Cowboys, Vikings and Cardinals have all been mentioned as speculative options for Urlacher, but a report from a few weeks ago mentioned that the Cardinals are not interest in signing him.

Chicago has already signed two new linebackers (D.J. Williams and James Anderson), so it would be somewhat surprising to see them re-sign Urlacher.