The Bear's Den: March 18, 2016

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BEAR DOWN!!!!

MARTY

Cox: A look at the Bears’ tight end depth chart following Bennett trade - USA Today With Bennett off to New England, Zach Miller steps in as the new number one tight end with Khari Lee and Rob Housler behind him.

Perez: Three reasons why the Bears won the Martellus Bennett trade - USA Today The Bears sent tight end Martellus Bennett to the Patriots for a fourth round pick. These are the three reasons why the Bears won the deal.

Cox: Martellus Bennett to Tom Brady: "Let’s do this." - USA Today The Bears traded Martellus Bennett to the Patriots, and he posted a picture of him and Tom Brady saying "Let's do this."

Campbell: Former Bears TE Martellus Bennett: 'It's just time for change' - Chicago Tribune Martellus Bennett took his trade in stride, as expected, Thursday. The mercurial tight end chalked it up to part of the Bears' ongoing transition to the program led by general manager Ryan Pace and coach John Fox.

Ottochian: Pace hits home run with Bennett trade - USA Today Bears' general manager Ryan Pace hit a home run with the Martellus Bennett trade. When all is said and done, the Martellus Bennett era in Chicago will be remembered for a lot of highs and some unsettling lows. What started out as a dream scenario in Chicago quickly turned into a a nightmare.

Finley: Martellus Bennett on if Bears' relationship soured: 'Ask them' - Chicago Sun-Times A muted Martellus Bennett declared his three years with the Bears a success, and couldn't say if his relationship with the Bears had soured.

Jahns: Bears succeed in trading Martellus Bennett | Chicago Sun-Times Martellus Bennett’s well-known off-the-field issues – from body-slamming a first-round pick to publicly calling out his quarterback more than once to various spats with two coaching staffs — put the Bears at a disadvantage.

Emma: Move Of Martellus Bennett Became Necessary For Bears - CBS Chicago Bennett was traded to the Patriots on Wednesday, a move long in the making.

Finley: The ups and downs of Martellus Bennett's Bears career - Chicago Sun-Times Call him the Black Unicorn or the Orange Dinosaur, but Martellus Bennett was the Bears' best tight end since Mike Ditka (Editor's note: No, he wasn't, Olsen was)

Wiederer: Bears' complex divorce from Martellus Bennett - Chicago Tribune The best of times, the worst of times: The Bears' complex divorce from Martellus Bennett.

Mullen: Will Martellus Bennett fit with Patriots Way? - CSN Chicago Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wonders how Martellus Bennett would fit in with what rightfully can be called "The Patriot Way" and the culture that has formed around coach Bill Belichick in New England.

Tannehill’s Farewells To Martellus Bennett, Shea McClellin - CBS Chicago The Boers and Bernstein Show will never forget Bennett and McClellin.

SHEA

Ottochian: Discussing Shea McClellin’s departure - USA Today USA Today's BearsWire's Lorin Cox and Phil Ottochian discuss the departure of Shea McClellin and what went wrong for him in Chicago.

Dickerson: Shea McClellin never fulfilled the lofty expectations in Chicago - ESPN Shea McClellin's biggest crime is the Bears drafted him 19th overall. The linebacker simply never lived up to first-round expectations in Chicago.

Mullen: For Shea McClellin, Patriots set up as nice end to rough Bears time - CSN Chicago In a touch of roster irony, Shea McClellin arrives in New England just as Chandler Jones - the player that many around the NFL were surprised that Phil Emery passed over in favor of McClellin - leaves for Arizona.

DRAFT / FREE AGENCY

Cox: Best remaining free agents on defense that could interest the Bears - USA Today There are still a number of quality free agent defenders that would be good fits on the Chicago Bears, and the team has money to spend.

Cox: ESPN grades the Bears’ free agent signings - USA Today ESPN's Jeff Dickerson gives the Bears' free agent moves a "B" as he's cautiously optimistic about the signings.

Breitner: Bears Draft Plan: First round options - Cover32 Now, could the Chicago Bears go offense in the first round? Maybe. There's a need up front, and it's certainly not impossible that...

Sunderbrunch: Ryan Pace is Actually Getting Good Value - Windy City Gridiron Whether or not Chicago fans want to hear it, Ryan Pace is getting above average value for traded players.

Gabriel: Why Private Workouts Are Important In Evaluating Draft Prospects - CBS Chicago At a private workout, the the NFL team holding the workout is in complete control.

BEARRRSSSS.......

Rosenbloom: Looks like John Fox places personality over production - Chicago Tribune John Fox seems to place personality over production. That's a message from the Bears' agreement to trade Martellus Bennett to the Patriots. The deal makes the Bears worse. Fox had better be able to out-coach the roster he just handicapped.

LeGere: Bears look much different, but will they be better? GM Ryan Pace's early wheeling and dealing have made the Bears a better team on paper and key acquisitions, especially on defense, have provided the team with more options looking ahead to next month's draft.

Cox: Ryan Pace continues major roster turnover for Bears - USA Today Bears general manager Ryan Pace moved on from a number of tenured Bears this offseason as he continues to make this roster his own.

Perez: The Bears are just fine with Zach Miller at tight end - USA Today The Chicago Bears will be starting Zach Miller at tight end next season, and they're perfectly fine with that.

Weaver: The Patriots take out the Bears' garbage - Cover32 Case in point: yesterday the New England Patriots did the Chicago Bears a couple of big favors by taking out their garbage for them.

Rothstein: Chicago Bears running back Jeremy Langford ready to take lead role - ESPN Second-year running back Jeremy Langford credits Matt Forte for teaching him how to be successful in Chicago.

Mayer's Chalk Talk: Who's best all-time Bears free agent? Senior writer Larry Mayer discusses the best free agent the Bears have ever signed, last year's Brandon Marshall trade with the Jets and all 19 compensatory picks the Bears have received.

Mayer's Chalk Talk: How have Bears fared in free agency? Senior writer Larry Mayer discusses the Bears' free-agent moves, the progress that tackle Tayo Fabuluje has made and two key storylines that were omitted in the 30-for-30 on the '85 Bears.

Rothstein: Chicago Bears running back Jeremy Langford ready to take lead role - ESPN Second-year running back Jeremy Langford credits Matt Forte for teaching him how to be successful in Chicago.

Poppen: Bears GM Ryan Pace: What comes next? - Cover32 The Chicago Bears entered the 2016 off season with more holes on its roster than any fan of the team would care to admit, and while...

Weaver: The future for the Bears at tight end - Cover32 Since it's Throwback Thursday, let's take a moment to watch some of the best plays the Bears got from their tight ends last year.

Mayer: Bears battle for NCAA Bragging Rights For the second straight year, current and former Bears players have filled out NCAA Basketball Tournament brackets and will battle for bragging rights on ChicagoBears.com.

Jahns: What we learned about the Bears, free agency & the future - Chicago Sun-Times With more than a week of free agency in the books, here’s what we’ve learned about the Bears and what's left ahead.

FANPOST OF MERIT

ECD's 2016 Bears Mock Draft, Version 2.0: Post Combine and FA Edition Fan Post Of Merit (FPOM): The Bears have put themselves in a situation that Ryan Pace planned for from day one: a position to truly draft the best player available (BPA) on their respective boards.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Haugh: Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky gets long-awaited answer from NFL - Chicago Tribune On a day the NFL took its most significant step yet toward confronting the realities of a dangerous game, Jan Schakowsky coaxed an admission out of the league.

Metallica To Play U.S. Bank Stadium Opening Weekend - Daily Norseman As part of U.S. Bank Stadium's Opening Weekend, the long-time rockers will be playing the second concert at the new venue.

Cowboys re-signing Lance Dunbar coming off major knee injury - AP The Dallas Cowboys are re-signing running back Lance Dunbar, who might not be ready to start the season after a major knee injury in 2015. The Bears were interested in Dunbar.

KNOW THY ENEMY

What are the Lions going to do at defensive end? - Pride Of Detroit A team is supposed to have more than two defensive ends, right?

How will the Packers address the defensive line after B.J. Raji's departure? - Acme Packing Company With Raji announcing his "hiatus", where do the Packers stand on the defensive line, and what are their options to bolster that position?