Proactive Bears Make Offers to Six Free Agents, Including Caleb Hanie

Yes it is basketball season and even some baseball is being played but that means little to those of us who find our deepest love rooted in football. Excuse me while I get my Bears' jersey out of the dryer.

Larry Mayer has posted an article at the Chicago Bears' website titled "Bears tender one-year contract offers to free agents." Everything that I have read about the Bears this year points to their desire to win a Super Bowl next year.

To start with they have offered one-year contracts to several of their players. They have offered one-year contracts to four restricted free agents and two exclusive free agents.

What are restricted free agents?

Restricted free agents are NFL players whose contracts have expired and have not played enough years to become "true" free agents. In the case of a restricted free agent, the current team makes an offer. The player is allowed to entertain another offer from another team however, if their current team matches that offer they must accept it.

The point for Bears' fans is that the Bears are being proactive. The players who they have made offers to are Corey Graham, cornerback, Caleb Hanie, quarterback (Yes!), Danieal Manning, safety and linebacker Nick Roach. Roach is certainly not surprising because they released Hunter Hillenmeyer.

What is an exclusive free agent?

An exclusive free agent is a player who has just been in the NFL a couple of years. When a club, their own, makes an offer they must accept it or quit the NFL.

Both the exclusive free agent and restricted free agent are terms developed under the players' collective bargaining agreement.

Exclusive free agents of the Bears who received offers were running back Kahill Bell and Edwin Williams who is an offensive lineman.

Last year there was no salary cap. As a result that changed the number of years required for unrestricted free agency to six years from four years.

Once again the key thing here is that it is just very early March and despite the fact there are sensitive and possible "season-stopping" talks going on, the Bears choose to do the positive thing and get their players in the fold.

That is the type of thinking as championship team has.

References:

Football.calsci.com Website, Mark Lawrence, "Football 101 Free Agency"

Chicago Bears' Website, Larry Mayer, "Bears tender one-year contract offers to free agents"