The Bear's Den: April 11, 2017

BEAR DOWN, CHICAGO BEARS, BEAR DOWN!!!!

BEARRRSSSS

Wiederer: Bears' exhibition opponents set; home games vs. Broncos, Browns - Chicago Tribune - The NFL announced its full preseason schedule Monday afternoon with the Bears slated to sandwich road contests against the Cardinals and Titans...

LeGere: Sims, Miller in front as Chicago Bears' TEs - Daily Herald - The Bears guaranteed $10 million of the $18 million they gave Dion Sims on a three-year contract last month in free agency, so he figures to be a mainstay, along with incumbent starter Zach Miller.

Mullin: Bears avoid 2016 playoff teams in 2017 preseason - CSN Chicago - The Bears four preseason opponents for 2017 were announced. None of the four teams made the playoffs in 2016.

Emma: Who Will Be Bears’ Top Receiving Target In 2017? - CBS Chicago - The Bears are left without a top receiver after losing Alshon Jeffery.

Mayer: Bears preseason schedule announced - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears will open the preseason this summer just as they did last year—by hosting the Denver Broncos the weekend of Aug. 10-14 at Soldier Field.

Jahns: When is the right time for the Bears to draft a quarterback? - Chicago Sun-Times - Part 1 of a 10-part series previewing the NFL draft, which begins on April 27.

Cox: What could the Bears get in a trade for the 3rd pick? - Bears Wire - If the Chicago Bears want to trade down from the third-overall pick, they could be looking at significant compensation from other teams.

Perez: 6 reasons why Mark Sanchez should’ve picked a different number in Chicago - Bears Wire - Mark Sanchez chose to wear No. 6 with the Bears in 2017, which seems like a very bad decision

Jahns: Mark Sanchez will wear Jay Cutler's old No. 6 - Chicago Sun-Times - Sanchez has worn the number before.

Mayer: Ranking the best trades in Bears history - ChicagoBears.com - Senior writer Larry Mayer ranks the top six trades in Bears history, all of which involve a Hall of Fame player who was either acquired in a trade or selected with a pick obtained in a deal.

Mayer: Bears host Special Olympics athletes - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears (and defensive back Sherrick McManis) hosted a flag football tournament for Special Olympics Illinois athletes Saturday in the Walter Payton Center at Halas Hall.

TRACY PORTER

Campbell: Bears cut veteran cornerback Tracy Porter - Chicago Tribune - The Bears cut veteran Tracy Porter on Monday, parting with their top cornerback from the last two seasons as part of an ongoing overhaul of the secondary.

LeGere: Bears waive veteran cornerback Porter - Daily Herald - The Bears Monday waived nine-year veteran Tracy Porter, who was their best cornerback in his two seasons with the team.

Bears continue shakeup in secondary with release of CB Tracy Porter - CSN Chicago - The Bears continued their secondary shakeup by announcing the release of veteran cornerback Tracy Porter after two seasons with the team.

Finley: After signing veteran CBs, Bears cut Tracy Porter - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears cut cornerback Tracy Porter on Monday.

Mayer: Bears cut veteran cornerback Porter - ChicagoBears.com - The Bears on Monday released cornerback Tracy Porter. The 10-year NFL veteran appeared in 30 games with 28 starts in two seasons with the Bears, recording 86 tackles and three interceptions.

Fishbain: Chicago Bears release CB Tracy Porter - Pro Football Weekly - Logjam at corner led to the Bears parting ways with veteran Porter

Patra: Tracy Porter waived by Chicago Bears - NFL.com - The Chicago Bears thinned out their glut of veteran corners. The team announced it waived Tracy Porter on Monday. The move saves the Bears $3.6 million against the salary cap.

DRAFT / PROSPECTS / FREE AGENCY

Wiederer: The Deshaun Watson debate - will QB's first-rate intangibles translate to NFL? - Chicago Tribune - Is Deshaun Watson the prototype of the quarterback Bears GM Ryan Pace so longs to have, a leader with proven ability to lift his program?

2017 NFL Draft Profile: Ohio State CB Marshon Lattimore - CSN Chicago - Get to know Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore with the latest NFL Draft Profile.

Finley: Northwestern's 'Franchise' to give Bears an up-close look - Chicago Sun-Times - "The Franchise" is waiting for one.

Smith: O.J. Howard, Myles Garrett have draft’s best size/speed combination - ProFootballTalk - If you want to draft football players who are both big and fast (and that's certainly a better strategy than drafting football players who are both small and slow), you can't do any better than Alabama tight end O.J. Howard and Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett.

Jeremiah mock draft 4.0: No early QBs, no Deshaun Watson - NFL.com - There are two first-round QBs -- none before pick 25 and none named Deshaun Watson -- in Daniel Jeremiah's latest mock. See his surprising Round 1 forecast.

POLISH SAUSAGE

Florio: Former Lions receiver Titus Young sentenced to four years in prison - ProFootballTalk - The sad case of Lions receiver Titus Young has culminated in a four-year prison term. Young, a 2011 second-round pick from Boise State, has been sentenced to four years behind bars after pleading guilty to felony battery arising from a January 2016 incident, according to TMZ.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Football Outsiders: Detroit Lions had the fewest injuries in NFC North in 2016 - Pride Of Detroit - The Lions benefitted from having an average healthy roster, while the Bears and Vikings were decimated.

Football Outsiders: The Packers were not hit as hard by injury in 2016 as you might think - Acme Packing Company - Believe it or not, the team was right around the middle of the NFL in terms of games lost to injury.

Football Outsiders: Vikings had third most games lost due to injury in 2016 - Daily Norseman - According to the Football Outsiders’ Adjusted Games Lost metric, the Vikings had the third worst injury luck in the league.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Mitchell: Bears Fan Shows Amazing Memory During Cubs Rain Delay - Windy City Gridiron - If you ever want to know the score of 2012, game 3, this is your guy...

Wiltfong: Chicago Bears waive Tracy Porter - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears have parted ways with the veteran cornerback.

Wiltfong: Chicago Bears led the NFL in Adjusted Games Lost - Windy City Gridiron - If you thought the Chicago Bears had a lot of injuries last year, you were right.

Wiltfong: SB Nation’s Dan Kadar has the Chicago Bears going defense - offense in his latest two round mock - Windy City Gridiron - Check out the latest Chicago Bears’ two round mock draft from SB Nation’s Dan Kadar.

Zeglinski: Bears release 2017 preseason schedule - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears officially announced their opponents for their four-game tune-up slate this August.

Wiltfong: Mark Sanchez will wear #6 for the Chicago Bears - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears have already issued jersey #6 to a new player.

Zeglinski: How to "fix the Bears," according to Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller - Windy City Gridiron - Miller’s official or not-so-official, Bears 2017 Draft haul, focuses on value in each round to point the franchise in the right direction.

FANPOSTS

Nadoo: Looking at Pittsburgh QB Nathan Peterman - Windy City Gridiron - Pittsburgh QB #4 Nathan Peterman, Credit: 247 Sports Rumblings for the Nathan Peterman are getting louder as the draft approaches. Most of the hype is putting an early label on Peterman with R...

OpinionBear: Drafting Takeaways - Windy City Gridiron - The Bears had the least takeaways of any NFL team last year with 11 (one third the amount the KC Chiefs had). While this number has some to do with injuries and a little to do with luck, nobody can...

Nadoo: Upgrading at Corner - Windy City Gridiron
The Bears have veteran help at cornerback, but could still use help at the position. Today, let’s look at the cost of trading for a few of the top corners on the market and see if the price is...

Jburris: Mike Glennon's Weapons - Windy City Gridiron - Mike Glennon will be the new man under center in Chicago this year. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneer comes to the Windy City with a lot of questions surrounding him. Glennon has only been a...

EricSoderholm'sbat: Pre-draft 53-man roster projection + mock draft - Windy City Gridiron - Quarterbacks: Mike Glennon Mark Sanchez Connor Shaw wide receivers: Kendall Wright Markus Wheaton Cameron Meredith Kevin White Rueben Randle Deonte Thompson running backs: J...

Nadoo: Tracking Prospect Visits and Workouts - Windy City Gridiron - The good folks at Walter Football have tracked all the visits, meetings, and workouts this offseason. It's a fun site to comb through and can be sorted by team or by prospect.

FanPosts - Recent - Windy City Gridiron - Here's a link to our FanPost section, where YOU have the opportunity to contribute to Windy City Gridiron. Take a few minutes and write a post about what you are thinking about regarding the Chicago Bears, and there'a chance it will be linked right here in the Den.

THE RULES

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