Urlacher To Miss Mini Camp?

by Adam T on May 13, 2008 1:12 PM CDT Comment 10 comments

If Bears management weren't putting any priority on reworking Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher's contract they might want to sit down and rethink that one.

When Urlacher made public that he wanted an extension and subsequently missed voluntary mini camps, based on Bears statements, everybody assumed it would be dealt with and a non issue, but that isn't the case if you ask Urlacher. He feels the Bears have had a vary lax attitude toward the subject and in return plans on missing a mandatory mini camp on May 30 to June 1.

“I would bet I wouldn’t be there,” Urlacher said from Arizona, where he has spent most of the offseason. “My agents and the team had some good dialogue early on, but nothing’s happened lately. It’s been almost two months since there’s been any action on their end, and it’s a waiting game right now.”

Asked if he might consider missing training camp, Urlacher said, “I haven’t even thought about it. I’m hoping it doesn’t get that far.”

There is a difference between missing a mandatory mini camp and a voluntary one, but there is a huge difference between missing a mandatory mini camp and training camp, so at this point I'd still call it a non issue, but it does tell the Bears that Urlacher isn't interested in waiting until later to get this done.

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IMO it seems like the Bears are too lax

They seem to like to sit back and they like to think by doing so the other party is suddenly going to change their tone and agree to whatever half-assed deal they laid out for them. Take the initiative JA and Co.!!

by GallopingGhost on May 13, 2008 1:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

thanks wcg

the rotoworld accounting of this story freaked me out a little, thanks for clearing it up. I’m sure JA is gonna have this figured out, and if he doesnt, I know lack isnt going be a baby about it ( cough::briggs::cough).

"snuffalufagus fucks my shit up"

by leopoldjones on May 13, 2008 1:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

glad I could help

from what I can gather Uralcher isn’t asking for anything to extravagant. He wants at least 2 more years tacked on and a little more up front money. I haven’t heard numbers yet, but it doesn’t seem like he is trying to set a record. I have to think they will work something out.

Being Who You Thought We Were Since 2005!

by Adam T on May 13, 2008 2:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

O BOY

they need to work something out, why Urlacher wasn’t the first to get an extension first baffles me. like WCG just pointed out he can’t possibly be asking for anything extravagant, probably just a little more insurance money in case he takes a bad hit and completely messes up his neck/back. he’s been the best player on our team for 8 years now and deserves an extension. i’m tired of seeing JA and the boys toy w/ their superstars like this

"URLACHER IS GOD"....."PLAY-MAKERS STAND UP!!!!!"

by Acreman20 on May 13, 2008 2:04 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

My guess would

be because he is already under contract. Hester, Gould and Harris were all a year away from being free agents. Urlacher can skip all the things he wants, but he is still under contract.

Being Who You Thought We Were Since 2005!

by Adam T on May 13, 2008 2:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

If someone is building your house

it is going to cost $200,000. And you give the guy $150,000 up front. Now he says he miss projected on the house and it is really going to cost $300,000. You have the guy under contract, you’ve already payed 75% and he has only given you 40% of the work and you don’t even know if he is able to finish the job. Are you going to give the guy another $150,000 and you are not even sure if we will give you a house? I wouldn’t. If he was in the last year or two, I would look at it. If he is healthy at the end of the year and you think the guy can make it, then give him a raise, but what he is asking is not fair.

The Bears made a decision to reward the guy for a record deal when the contract was signed. That have no clue if the guy is healthy enough to play football for even one year, but you want them to give him even more money. Dude. Do your job. Show you are healthy, and then ask. That is fair. When no one knows if you can play at a high level anymore or stay healthy isn’t the time ask for a raise. It is not the Bears fault the market changed so much in the last two years.

Honestly, how much do you think the guys is worth? I’m not talking past, he got payed good money for the past. I’m talking future. He is not as fast, he is not as healthy, he is not as strong, he may have one or two years in him and not even full years. How much do you think Shaun Alexander is going to get on his next deal? What about Daunte Cuelpeper? That is what we may currently have. An aging star with nagging injuries playing at a much lower level. The only thing he has on the two I mentioned is leadership.

Kick it to me... I'm open!

by #23 on May 13, 2008 2:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

?

Wha?

DEJESUS!!!

by tomas21 on May 13, 2008 7:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like Urlacher

but if you want to be realistic with this. The guy got paid a few years back. At this point it seems like the deal is very fair. He was one of the highest paid guys for a couple years and now he could be ready to break and he is still getting good money, but not great money. Should the Bears extend him? Not this year. If he wants more money, then they should look at how he does this year and then give him the money if he is a healthy athlete and is still a top 10 LB. If so, he you would love to give the guy the raise and grab two more years. If not, then why should you have to pay the guy more. Yes he has helped your franchise and been a tremendous leader and I believe he got paid well for it compared to the value of contracts at the time.

Kick it to me... I'm open!

by #23 on May 13, 2008 7:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Only One Fair Way To Resolve This

Urlacher has been a great player for the Bears. The Bears gave Urlacher a huge contract that still has 4 years to run. So, who’s right? Probably both sides are, or maybe neither.

The Bears made a gesture offering another 5 million up front, plus an additional one million a year based on meeting certain requirements. Not a killer offer by todays standards, but more than any of us could ever hope for from our bosses…

Urlacher states that the salary cap has gone up since he signed his deal, which is correct. He also says the Bears could cut him, or try to lower his pay if he did a lousy job, which is also true. However, that is true of everyone. If you don’t do your job, then you get fired. That is simply an unfortunate fact that all of us face.

The Bears counter that they have other guys who need new contracts first, and that they have a lot of holes to fill. Also, Urlacher has injury questions and is on the downside of his playing years. You have to decide the merit of these arguments for yourself. In fairness to them, it does seem strange that a team which performed so poorly last year has so many players who feel underpaid.

So, what to do to be fair to everybody?

Offer to trade Urlacher, and see what the rest of the league thinks of his services at this time. If someone feels he will put their team over the top, you should get a Hershel
Walker type offer, give or take a pick or two. If the Bears get a good offer for him, and they don’t see their way possible to paying him what he can get elsewhere, the fair thing is to go ahead and trade him to a contender. It may be the only way that he gets his chance to play in another Superbowl, because I don’t think that the Bears are going back anytime soon.

If the offers are decent, but not enough to convince the Bears to trade him, they ought to offer a little more at the bargaining table, and Urlacher should be more flexible. Both sides will have had a fair chance to gauge his current value.

If no one makes a good offer for him, then Urlacher should be man enough to realize that the rest of the NFL had a chance to bid on his services and passed. He should play out his contract like a professional, and be happy he isn’t a chairmaker or whatever. Because at the end of the day, if a chairmaker signs a contract, and then another chairmaker signs a better contract, the first chairmaker will still have to honor his word. At least that’s how it goes in the real world.

by modai on May 14, 2008 5:32 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I highly doubt

we’d get Urlacher’s full value in a trade. As a matter of fact, we wouldn’t get anything close to his value, which is why I don’t think we’d trade him.

OTOH, if we were to get a second rounder or something like that I think we should bite. Your right about how he should honor his contract. At least he waited a few years before complaining, unlike everyone’s best friend, Lance “Money” Briggs.

I am like your Dan Aykroyd and biglow would be Jane, the ignorant slut. -Chad

by thecoolest on May 14, 2008 6:34 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs