FA WR Rumors Surrounding The Chicago Bears

  Over this week we have seen 3 WRs tied with the Chicago Bears in rumors surrounding the organization's interest in bringing in a veteran option. And those 3 are as follows: Sidney Rice, Santana Moss, and Plaxico Burress. Any of the 3 would be a welcomed addition to Chicago, some more than others. Follow me after the jump to discuss and comment on which of these 3 top targets you would like in Chicago.

  So in what seems to be a never ending series of posts related to FA predictions during this long rediculous lockout, what is different about this post is now we are starting to get a feel of who will be targeting who and what in FA. With the Bears the feeling is we will be targeting a Guard and a WR to bring into Chicago to boost our Offense. And the beauty of this is that we have approximately 40 million dollars to spend in FA. The most definitive statement about the Bears interest in bringing in a veteran WR came from Lovie Smith in a press conferance stating that he would like to see a veteran option brought in that fits our system as opposed to just being all about size. That makes some targets more realistic than others as we get to the nitty gritty about these players in question.

  Santana Moss - His rumors are based around the fact Devin Hester in an interview stated that he wants the Bears to sign Moss into their WR corps. At the age of 32 he is coming off his best season in his career, which is 93 recs for 1,115 yards and 6 TDs. When a good QB finally entered the scene he produced in a big way. What bodes so well for Santana is the fact out of the 3 he seems to be the most logical option in that he is viewed as the best all-round fit for Mike Martz and his Offense. He definitely isn't the tallest WR on the list at 5'10, but he is bulked up at 209 pounds and is quick despite his age. Plus he has been tough and healthy for a good part of his career as well as a great lockeroom presence.

 Plaxico Burress - He has recently stated his top 3 teams in FA are the Eagles, the Rams, and the Bears. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is the same agent for a number of Bears players so it only seems natural that he would be tied with interest surrounding the Bears. Brian Urlacher also stated that he would like to see Plaxico play for the Bears. And before he went to prison there were direct sources pointing out to the fact the Chicago Bears had considerable interest in Plaxico shortly after aquiring Jay Cutler in that blockbuster deal in 2009. That would have been the final move out of the supposed 3 (Cutler and Pace) in an effort to boost the Offense considerably. There was just one little problem with that; Plax indeed went to prison and ever since then the Bears seem to have lost complete interest in him. Now that could all change when FA hits, but I still view this as unlikely as we want someone who is going to be a fit, not just to be someone with size coming out of 2 years in prison. But if we do go after him lets view what we will be getting. He lacks speed and has a history which both are indeed a concern, but he also will be coming in healthier than he has ever been in his career with his ankle issues gone. So he may play a little faster in a sense. Also he definitely fights for the ball and is extremely hard to bring down, something key to add in our Offense. And, he has played well in the cold, something critical as we need a WR who can play in the freezing Chicago winter. In a sense he is a pure complimentary player for this Offense as he is the giant fighter to the small and shifty speedsters in Johnny Knox and Devin Hester. He would provide another possession type WR to pair with Earl Bennett on 3rd downs as well as a giant red-zone target for Jay Cutler, something he has lacked since Brandon Marshall in Denver. But to top this all off he is the most productive WR, and in his best year with the Giants he recorded on just 70 recs 1,025 yards and 12 TDs with an inconsistant QB in Eli Manning, and in his best year with the Steelers he recorded 78 recs for 1,325 yards and 6 TDs. Those are all despite being viewed as a slow dinosaur WR as he still knows how to get seperation. He himself is not a logical fit on paper, but when you consider that we have all the speed in the world in Devin Hester and Johnny Knox with no one standing over 6'1 in our WR corps, he could find a way to contribute in a big way for the Bears. Definitely is the biggest risk/reward player on this list.

  Sidney Rice - The source of his rumors stem from an ESPN report made by John Clayton stating the Bears need to get a WR and listed the Bears as players to make a run at Sidney Rice once FA begins. He is the player with the least amount of production compared to the other options listed. However, he also to my eyes is a blend of the other two as he has some speed and good route running skills to go with his size. And he has also only had one good year where a QB who can provide him the opportunities to make plays finally arrived and he exploded, totalling in at 83 recs for 1,312 yards and 8 TDs. His best year is better than the best years of  Santana Moss and rivals that of Plaxico Burress. Plus his #1 attribute, is his age as he is only 24 years old and seems to have fully recovered from his injuries. To me, he seems to be in a similar position as to where Brandon Marshall and Santana Moss were, in that all he needs is a good QB to throw him TD passes and he is all set to burn secondaries.

  So after all this feel free to do some independant research to make a decision of your own, as after I did I feel rather comfortable seeing any of these players play for the Chicago Bears next season where each of these players brings something different to the table. Now I ask you the question: