Ten Thoughts on the NFL: Chicago Bears and beyond

1) As a sports agent you probably don't want to piss off an NFL owner, let alone two owners, or even three. But that's exactly what was reported about Steve Weinberg, agent for Emmanuel Sanders, who recently signed with the Denver Broncos. Weinberg, who was barred from the NFL in 2003, was recently reinstated, but this latest allegation may have him out again.

A deal for Sanders was agreed upon with the Kansas City Chiefs, but then it got interesting.

While shopping the Chiefs' offer to the Bucs, Weinberg never explained that he had already accepted the terms of Kansas City's offer. Later in the night, Sanders' agent had agreed to terms with the Broncos, which is where he is currently headed. Sanders and Weinberg also rankled the 49ers by agreeing to visit, then blowing it off.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has shown some swift justice when dealing with the players, I wonder when the hammer will drop on Steinberg.

2) Denver may be involved in the shady Sanders negotiations, but they have had a quality free agency period thus far. Besides Sanders, they added safety T.J. Ward, corner Aqib Talib and DE/OLB DeMarcus Ware.

3) The New England Patriots may have lost Talib, but they ended up with a better corner in Darrelle Revis. All the injury, contractual and trade drama that surrounded Revis the last couple years overshadowed how great of a player is still is.

4) I like what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have done so far in free agency. They added talent to an already solid defense for head coach Lovie Smith, they got a quality offensive tackle in Anthony Collins and a stop gap quarterback in Josh McCown to give the franchise time to find the "franchise" signal caller.

I was one of the few that was OK with McCown being the #2 QB for the Chicago Bears last off season. I was impressed with his poise and athleticism in his limited action previously, and with better coaching I expected him to be good enough to back up Jay Cutler. I didn't expect him to play his way out of town with his stellar numbers, but good for him for cashing in at 34 years old.

5) Another former Bear that is going into a good situation is Julius Peppers. I thought Peppers was Chicago's best defensive lineman last year, there was just no way they could have kept him with such a high cap hit. The Packers will be able to move him all over their defensive front, and they should be able to keep his snaps at a more manageable level.

6) Former Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Hatcher decided to move on to the Washington Redskins with a 4 year $27.5 million deal. Hatcher thrived when Dallas moved to a 4-3 in 2013, as his skill set seemed to fit the 3 technique defensive tackle to a T. He picked up 11 sacks playing in their new Tampa 2 scheme in 2013, whereas in the previous 7 seasons he had total 16 sacks playing mostly as a DE in their 3-4 defense.

I'm not sure why he'd want to get away from a scheme that allowed him to play at a Pro Bowl level, but he did cash in on what will probably be his final contract in the NFL.

7) Current Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie was one of the hottest GM candidates when he worked with the Green Bay Packers under Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson, but now he's fighting for his job just two years after landing in Oakland.

McKenzie was indirectly responsible for my favorite tweet of the week.

With the additions of Justin Tuck and LaMarr Woodley, the #Raiders are a near lock to lead the #NFL in sacks in 2009.

— Ryan Burns (@FtblSickness) March 13, 2014

8) Sticking with the bad free agent signings theme, what were the Buffalo Bills thinking by giving former Jerry Angelo #1 draft pick Chris Williams a four year contract worth $13.5 million and $5.5 million guaranteee? Yes he started all 16 games last year in St. Louis, but that's a lot of money for an average starting guard.

I mentioned this is Dane's article on Williams earlier this week, but for some perspective, the Bears re-signed Matt Slauson to a 4 year deal worth $12,800,000 and just $4,900,000 guaranteed. I may be biased, but I think Slauson is a better football player than Williams.

9) And speaking of a Chris Williams', the Bears still have one of those of their roster. Their Williams plays wide receiver, but he made a name for himself returning kicks and punts in the CFL.

That Chris Williams ran a 4.39 40 at the NFL Combine and a 4.28 40 at his 2009 New Mexico State pro day.

I'm not saying his CFL success will definately translate to the Bears, but it's worth a shot.

10) Bears fans may be excited to learn that DE/DT Israel Idonije is visiting the Bears tomorrow, they may not be as excited to learn his 2013 stats were fairly pedestrian. Izzy only had 11 tackles and a half a sack, but if we dig a little deeper Pro Football Focus had him down for 347 snaps and 23 QB hurries, which was good for 3rd best on the Lions.

I always liked his versatility as a player, and with the Bears looking to get more versatile defensively, this signing would makes sense. So would a return by Corey Wootton, but all is quiet on that front.

11) Jim Irsay is a jackass.