Free agency. We can almost smell it. We all want the Bears to go hard in free agency, bring in all the pieces that'll fix it. Go out...spend...fix it now.
I think we all also would probably like a gajillion dollars and a sweet underground lair.
That said, even with Ted Phillips saying they weren't going to go "hog wild" in Free Agency a couple weeks ago, the company line seems to have changed.
So what's the first move going to be?
The Bears will enter free agency next Friday with an open mind and an open checkbook. But just how active they’ll be will be determined by what’s available on the open market.
This is from Larry Mayer over at chicagobears.com. So the line seems to have been changed a bit--they'll spend, but only on the right players.
The big rumor is, of course, Julius Peppers. Peppers, when playing at 100% and giving it his all, is a beast. Other big names floating around are Kampman, Rolle, Sharper, that sort of thing.
Sean Jensen wrote an article yesterday about why the Bears have to be players in free agency. He makes a lot of great points.
That said, the first signing, I think, isn't going to be your big name DE or safety. I think you're going to be seeing a move like the rumored interest in Manumaleuna.
Your big profile players like Peppers are going to entertain a lot of offers, and take some time to consider their offers. A move like Manumaleuna shows that the Bears are willing to go out and make things happen, and could show their other targets that they are, indeed interested.
So I'm going to say here now--our first free agency signing won't be our biggest. What think you?