Chicago Bears sign linebacker Larry Grant, add WR Terrence Toliver to the practice squad

With starting linebacker Lance Briggs expected to miss about a month with his shoulder injury, the Chicago Bears have signed linebacker Larry Grant.

Grant is a five year pro with 11 starts under his belt, but he is a core special teamer. With Either Blake Costanzo or rookie Khaseem Greene expected to receive the start in Briggs' place, Grant will pick up the 3rd phase slack. With 93 tackles in his 66 career games, Grant will bring some experience to the Bears linebacker depth.

EDIT: It looks like Greene will have the first crack at replacing Briggs.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Rookie 4th rd pick Khaseem Greene will get first shot at starting WLB job with lance Briggs sidelined</p>&mdash; Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradBiggs/statuses/394873074165641216">October 28, 2013</a></blockquote>

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The Bears will also welcome Jordan Palmer back to practice today. Palmer was signed last week to fill in as the #2 quarterback while Jay Cutler recovers from his torn groin. Palmer will back up Josh McCown for the foreseeable future, and the Bears have no plans to add a 3rd QB to the mix.

In case you missed it, the two players the Bears released to make room for Grant and Palmer were tight end Steve Maneri and corner C.J. Wilson.

Also new to today's practice is wide receiver Terrence Toliver who was added to the practice squad. To make room for Toliver the Bears released Ricardo Lockette.

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