The Bears Den: April 03, 2015 - Offseason Chicago Bears news & notes

Ryan Pace's moves make perfect sense for Bears - Is-Hub Arkush: The Bears still desperately need talent at WR, RT, backup TE, and pretty much every position on defense, but they can now afford to draft BPA regardless of position with every one of their draft picks.

Bears offseason program - Jeff Dickerson: The Bears officially kick off their voluntary 2015 nine-week offseason program April 13, with a voluntary minicamp April 28-30.

Win two tickets to all 16 Bears games - ChicagoBears.com offers fans a chance to win two tickets to all 16 Bears games this season.

Follow WCG on Twitter; like us on Facebook (& click on 'Follow').  It puts the lotion in the basket.  Den pic in hi-res.

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Bears part ways with Roberto Garza

Bears release Garza, sign Montgomery - Larry Mayer: The Bears made a change at the center position Thursday, releasing Roberto Garza and signing Will Montgomery to a one-year contract. Also release Anthony Walters.

After a decade of leadership, Bears' revolving door ushers out Garza - Chris Boden: The last member of the offense remaining from the 2006 Super Bowl team, Roberto Garza was truly looked up to in the locker room and has already established a presence in broadcasting.

Roberto Garza thankful for time with Bears - Dan Wiederer: Veteran lineman's exit comes with characteristic grace, even as it leaves a leadership void up front.

Garza a beacon of professionalism for 10 seasons with Bears - Brad Biggs: Bears took a gamble with Roberto Garza 10 years ago and he repaid them with a decade of loyalty, high-level play, and leadership. Honored that team wants him to come back to retire as a Bear.

Bears replace Garza with ex-Broncos center - Bob LeGere: The Bears parted ways with ironman Roberto Garza on Thursday; replacement Will Montgomery gets high marks for athleticism and his ability at the second level in the run game.

With Garza gone, new center ready to adapt to Bears - Patrick Finley: Will Montgomery has never met Roberto Garza, but he’s watched him plenty, and was intrigued by the opportunity to join familiar faces among the coaches.  Not-Hub Fishbain: Should be able to help other O-linemen with Adam Gase's offense.

[Video] SportsTalk Live - Bears part ways with Roberto Garza.

[Video] - Kap and Haugh discuss Bears' decision to release Roberto Garza.

Long shows his appreciation for Garza - Larry Mayer: After learning that the Bears had released Roberto Garza, Kyle Long expressed his appreciation for his now former teammate via a series of Tweets.

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Bearsss

Recent history suggests edge rusher may be the way to go - (CBS): If Ryan Pace refers to the results from the top-15 players selected in each of the last five drafts, he may deem an edge rusher a safer selection than wide receiver.

[Video] - Is-Hub Arkush: If the Bears look to add to the defense in the first round of the NFL Draft, Missouri's Shane Ray could be the right fit.

Draft preview - Adam Hoge profiles Oregon's cornerback prospect Ifo Ekpre-Olomu.

Draft preview - Dan Durkin takes a look at Florida State’s Ronald Darby, a cover corner with elite speed.

Mock Draft - Steven Ruiz and Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz make the case for Amari Cooper to the Bears at #7.

Bears mailbag - Brad Biggs answers readers' questions on the Jacquizz Rodgers, Matt Forte, Jay Cutler, and the draft.

NFCN Blog - ESPN's NFC North reporters discuss division's worst free-agent moves. The other three gang up on the Bears. Top free-agent move.

Photos - ChicagoBears.com takes a pictorial look at the Bears' 2015 offseason transactions.

Cutler's best/worst moments mark his 6-year anniversary -  Phil Thompson with a timeline of Jay Cutler's highs and lows and memes and videos.

[Video] SportsTalk Live - Six-year anniversary of the Bears trading for Cutler.

[Video] Inside the Bears - David Bass and Lyndsay Petruny venture off the Riu Guanacaste resort in Costa Rica to explore the Arenal volcano and rain forest.

Bears history - Larry Mayer: Fifty years ago, the Bears selected a pair of future Hall of Famers in Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers with back-to-back picks in the 1965 NFL Draft.

Chris Long, Kyle Long start zombie apocalypse survival school - Jared Dubin: Get one day of instruction for the low, low price of only $20,000 a day!

Check WCGer Sackman's selection of Bears-themed tops here, or some t-shirt designs here.

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Polish sausage

What’s wrong with the QB Pro Days? - Greg Gabriel on why teams' private workouts are really what's informative about QB prospects.

Know thy enemy: Packers - The ESPN NFC North reporters agree that the Packers remain atop the heap in the division as long as Aaron Rodgers is in top form.

Know thy enemy: Lions - Michael Rothstein: Jim Caldwell was the third-most aggressive coach in the league, according to Football Outsiders, going for it on fourth down more than any other team.

Know thy enemy: Vikings - Jason B. Hirschhorn: Why did the Cowboys restructure Tony Romo's contract to free up $13 million in cap space for the 2015 season? It's most likely not to trade for Adrian Peterson.

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