The Bears took care of three more of their rookie class yesterday.

Marcus Harrison,  Earl Bennett and Zackary Bowman all recieved 4 year deals with the Bears.

Marcus Harrison

Harrison is a first-round talent who dropped in the draft because of durability and character concerns. The 6-3, 310-pounder tore his left ACL last spring, but rebounded to register 76 tackles, 6½ tackles-for-loss and 1½ sacks while starting 10 games at Arkansas. He also batted down 10 passes and forced one fumble.

Earl Bennett

Highly competitive and productive, Bennett finished as the SEC’s all-time leading receiver with 236 catches despite playing only three seasons at Vanderbilt. The 6-foot, 209-pounder is the only player in conference history with at least 75 receptions in multiple seasons.

Zackary Bowman

Bowman showed promise in 2005 at Nebraska, recording 27 tackles, 14 pass breakups and two interceptions while starting five of 11 games played. But the 6-1, 197-pounder tore his left ACL in spring practice and missed the entire 2006 season.

The two remaining players yet sign are first rounder Chris Williams and second round Matt Forte.

A source close the Bears organization said that the Bears and third round selection Marcus Harrison should finalize a deal within the next 24 hours.

Third-round pick Marcus Harrison is on the verge of signing a four-year deal with the Bears, an NFL source said Monday. The deal is expected to be finalized within the next 24 hours.

Harrison, a defensive tackle from Arkansas, could provide a spark as a backup on the interior of the defensive line this coming season. He had first-round potential, but an arrest and ACL injury caused the rookie to drop. Harrison is projected as a future starter.

The remaining unsigned Bears draft choices are 1st rounder Chris Williams, second rounder Matt Forte, third rounder Earl Bennett and fifth rounder Zackary Bowman.

I am curious as to how Cedric Benson's waiving effects Matt Forte's signing.  Surely before he pretty  much had to sign what was given to him, but now with Benson out he has a bit more leverage if he was interested in pushing.

Israel Idonije, who has been a standout special teams player for the past few years, not surprisingly wants an increased role on the defensive line in 2008.  He's been utilized as a defensive end in the past, but in recent practices he's been lining up at DT.  To prepare to play inside, he put on 20 pounds and now plays at 295.

With Idonije expected to see more playing time on defense, his role on special teams likely will be reduced.

“The way I look at it right now is that I feel I have to replace him,” said special teams coordinator Dave Toub. “If I think that way and get him replaced, then it’s a bonus if I get him back.

“I’ve got to think that he’s going to be in the [defensive line] rotation. He’ll probably get a lot of plays defensively, so I’m not going to be able to use him as much. If I use him in any phase, it would be kickoff because he’s a factor. Just having him running down the middle of the field, you have to account for him. You have to use two guys on him, so that frees up somebody else.”

Despite what Toub thinks, Idonije will likely split time with Dusty Dvoracek and rookie Marcus Harrison in the preseason, but I would expect they'll win the job over him and go into a starting rotation to start the season, and Idonije will slide back into his special teams role.

e Bears continue to roll signing another of their draft class.  This time 4th round selection Craig Steltz.  Steltz is a safety out of LSU.  The deal is for 4 years and details will be posted once available.

The Bears now have 7 out of 12 draft picks signed.

The remaining 5 are Chris Williams (T, Vanderbilt), Matt Forte (RB, Tulane), Earl Bennett (WR, Vanderbilt), Marcus Harrison (DT, Arkansas) and Zackary Bowman (CB, Nebraska).