Bears Trade Chris Harris

by Adam T on Aug 2, 2007 10:06 PM CDT

UPDATE: Chris Harris was traded for a 5th round draft pick.

The Bears were only going to carry 5 safeties going into the season, but they had 6 vying for the spots. Instead of cutting the worse one, they traded former starter Chris Harris to the Panthers for an undisclosed draft pick in 2008.

This leaves the Bears with Mike Brown and Adam Archuleta as the starters and Danieal Manning, third-year pro Brandon McGowan and fifth-round pick Kevin Payne as reserves.

You can only keep so many safeties," said coach Lovie Smith. "We felt like on our roster, we had six that we felt real good about. You can't keep six safeties; it's as simple as that."

While I assume some might find this a bit surprising, Harris was the best pick. Danieal Manning and Bradon McGowan have both spent time as starters and played well. Harris had the most trade value and one thing we do know is that giving Jerry Angelo more picks is a dangerous thing for opposing teams. I don't know how much McGowan or Payne will see the field, but I will miss Harris' hard hitting. As long as Brown stays healthy, he should dish out plenty on his own.

Credit: mikebdot

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hmm

brown and archuleta, anyone else have deep coverage worries?

by mike b on Aug 2, 2007 10:42 PM CDT reply actions

Early for a trade

Lovie and Angelo earned the benefit of the doubt. My concern is why the trade happened so early. Why didn't Angelo wait until after a few preseason games? That's safer in case another Bear safety gets hurt. Other teams suffering safety injuries would raise Harris' asking price. Well, I guess you're not getting more than a 5th round for Harris.

by Guancous on Aug 2, 2007 11:05 PM CDT reply actions

Was Harris the one who completely blew ..

the coverage on the 1st Colts TD in the SB? Not that such a play defines the guy, I do also remember some AWESOME hits of his as well. And I'm not sure this is a great trade at this point, considering Brown's penchance for injury. But we'll see.

I wouldn't ever go out to hurt anybody deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something. - Dick Butkus

by iowaBear on Aug 2, 2007 11:17 PM CDT reply actions

no...

that was manning.

and my problem is exactly the last sentence in this post..."if mike brown stays healthy..."

that hasn't happened in 3 years and harris was someone who was perfectly built for the strong safety spot and who knew this system very well. and brown and archuleta won't both be on the field at the same time will they, because that would be really bad news.

by lopey986 on Aug 2, 2007 11:56 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah...

...they'll be the starters.

by tyger1147 on Aug 3, 2007 9:14 AM CDT up reply actions

Basically

They traded Harris for Walker. I'd take that any day of the week.

by SouthernSlam on Aug 3, 2007 7:31 AM CDT reply actions

Don't steal my line!

by tyger1147 on Aug 3, 2007 9:14 AM CDT up reply actions

Fundamentals

Remember last year when the Bears defense missed tackles - most of these were by Harris.
Remember Reggie Bush's long touchdown run after the catch on a wheel route in the playoffs. The announcers tried to claim that it was a pick, but the real problem was that Harris tried to cover Reggie Bush inside out instead of over the top. Trying to keep up with Bush is futile - any experienced safety would have known better. I learned this lesson in college so should have Harris!

by phastphil on Aug 3, 2007 9:41 AM CDT reply actions