We've heard speculation over that last few days, but Michael C. Wright says it's going to happen: Former 1st-round draft pick Chris Williams will move back to Offensive Tackle for the 2012 season.

Williams has had an unfortunate start to his career in Chicago, to say the least, but did show significant signs of improvement last season while playing Guard. It appears Mike Tice will try and build on that momentum by shifting Williams back to the position he was drafted to play in the first place.

A quick poll after the jump to let us know if you support this decision...

The Chicago Bears announced they have come to terms with Evan Rodriguez, the TE from Temple drafted in the 4th round of this year's NFL Draft.

The teams sees the 6'2, 240lb target as being a versatile player, having the ability to hold his own against pass rushers, as well as being able to stretch the field in the passing game.

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It seems that many Bears fans still haven't yet decided what to think about the team's 1st round selection yesterday, but I can guarantee that the reaction would have been totally different had Jerry Angelo picked DE Shea McClellin of Boise State.

Sure, that may seem like a pointless statement, but the fact that the fan base seems to be trying to jump on board the Emery Train speaks of the shift in paradigm that has been occurring over the last several weeks. And that's a shift that has been needed for quite some time.

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Speculation has run rampant, and Phil Emery has made his first Draft decision as new General Manager of the Chicago Bears.

With the 19th pick of the 2012 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears surprised some folks by slecting Boise State DE/LB Shea McClellin. McClellin was projected to be drafted by a team who runs a 3-4 defense, but film shows his ability to rush the passer, drop back in coverage, and be versatile from sideline to sideline.

Definitely a surprise, but with the other options on the board, Emery thinks this will benefit the Bears the most.

Rod Marinelli will have some fun with the Peppers/ McClellin combo. Quarterbacks beware...

The commish wasn't a very popular feller this evening, but that's no surprise. Table is below the jump... Continue your fun here.

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Outside of the Super Bowl, this is the biggest night of the year for the NFL, and probably the most exciting night for each team's fanbase. Some feel they are only a couple pieces away from competing for the Lombardi trophy, while others have a lot more work to do. Some fans have complete faith in the executives making the decisions, while others already have jerseys and mattresses soaking in gasoline.

Here's the way this will work: Below the jump, you will find a Draft table. With each selection, we will update the table... Once the Bears make their pick, we will have a stand-alone post go up with a quick analysis. After that, we'll reconvene back here for the remainder of round one.

After its all over for the night, we'll have a wrap-up post that you'll need to hit up before crashing for the night. And then tomorrow we will do it all again. Have fun!

Update: Just after 7pm ET, the Vikings traded their #3 overall pick to the Browns for their #4, and three extra picks (4th, 5th, and 7th round picks).

The Buccaneers traded the #5 pick to the Jaguars, acquiring the #7 pick and a 4th rounder. The Rams traded the #6 pick to the Cowboys for a swap and a second rounder.

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In what will be the biggest night of the NFL offseason, the Draft is merely hours away from kicking off. There has been endless speculation for every team, and which players might go where, with enough mock drafts all over the internet to make your head spin. But tonight, it will all come together, and the 2012 season will be one step closer to being here.

So far for the Chicago Bears offseason, new General manager Phil Emery has been a busy boy, and most fans are feeling pretty good about what he's accomplished. And tonight will be another opportunity for him to distance himself from his predecessor.

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According to Ian Rapoport, the Chicago Bears have signed OG Chilo Rachal to a one-year contract. The 6'5", 325 pound Rachal was formerly with the 49ers, who declined to re-sign him after last season.

Rachal was a 2008 draft pick by San Francisco, taken in the 2nd round (39th overall). He was in the starting lineup for the 2009 and 2010 seasons, but relegated to the bench in 2011.

While this may be nothing more than a depth-signing, it does continue the trend that Mike Tice started of trying to get bigger on the offensive line.

Stay tuned for more info...

It was announced this afternoon that the Chicago Bears have promoted two long-time trainers into new positions. Chris Hanks has been promoted to Head Coach/ Athletic Trainer and Bobby Slater to Head Athletic Trainer/ Director of Rehabilitation. Between the two employees, there is 25 years of service with the team.

These may seem like small promotions on the surface, but with many veterans coming into contract years, seeing the team's loyalty in rewarding their own could have a positive affect on future Bears player contracts.

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Some news from Halas Hall today regarding the team's offseason schedule of activities.

Local pro day: April 13

Voluntary workouts: Begin April 16

Rookie mini-camp: May 11-13

OTAs: Begin May 21

Veteran mini-camp: June 12-14

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There was a time not too long ago when a professional athlete was primarily judged by their on-field performance, but nowadays, the realm of social media can greatly influence fans' perceptions and opinions of players on their favorite teams. Seeing an athlete, or any public figure for that matter, get in trouble with the law or commit some sort of immoral or unethical act can instantly bring in a guilty verdict in the court of public perception.

Unfortunately, the bad always gets more attention than the good... Community involvement, charitable activities, and clean records can largely go unnoticed. Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler is a prime example. He's never made headlines for late-night escapades, and never been subject to any real amount of scrutiny beyond some on-field mannerisms, yet a large portion of NFL fans choose to hold an unfavorable opinion of him, despite leading a mostly private personal life, and being involved in several philanthropic efforts.

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Recently we had the opportunity to chat with retired Bears RB Gale Sayers about a number of Chicago Bears/NFL topics. As always, Sayers was candid in his responses, and provided plenty of insights that should generate some interesting discussions.

WCG: The Matt Forte contract situation has been a hot topic for months now, and Bears fans seem to be divided with their opinions. The team offered what they thought was fair (4 years/ $30M/ $13M guaranteed), but he feels he is worth more. Where do you see Forte ranking among NFL running backs, and how do you see this situation playing out?

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Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times says that Nike will not have the alternate orange jersey for the Chicago Bears, but they will still carry a throwback option.

Personally, this is a bit disheartening, as I loved the orange, but I wasn't consulted for this decision. Perhaps an appeal could be made to someone, somewhere, but I'm not sure if that would make any difference.

I always wanted to see an orange top paired with navy pants, but that wasn't a combo that the team ever went with.

Oh well, I suppose life will go on. Will you miss the orange?

Here it is... Helmet tip to Darren Rovell for taking pics at the unveiling. Pre-sale is April 15, and full sale on April 26-27. What do you think?

Note: You can already purchase some of the Nike items here.

Update: Sean Jensen is tweeting some pics from different angles here.

Rolling right along, WCG member IOftenPanic is up to bat at #21 in this year's Mock Draft.

As a reminder to all our mock drafters, we'll email you when it's your pick. So if the email you have on file with SBNation isn't valid, or if you're taking too long to respond, we'll move to the backup drafter.

And with the 21st pick of the WCG Mock Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select...

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Jason LaCanfora provides the salary cap situation of each NFL team as of March 30th, and the Chicago Bears numbers are as follows:

Current contracts: 49
Previous year carryover: $7,749,142.00
Adjustments: $3,463,000.00
Adjusted cap: $131,812,142.00
Team cap: $128,271,307.00
Cap room: $3,540,835.00
Team cash: $109,584,020.00

Not a whole lot of wiggle room left for this season, but that number could still fluctuate depending on roster moves not yet made. As much as we've heard that Phil Emery is a tireless worker, something tells me he isn't finished with Free Agency yet.

Some other notable cap situations from around the league:

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Despite expressing that they would like to retain the services of DT Amobi Okoye for 2012 and beyond, the Chicago Bears have yet to hit any news wires with contract talks.

In fact, the only time Okoye's name has come up recently has been in reference to visiting other teams around the league. Joe Reedy, beat writer for the Bengals, says that Okoye's visit to Cincinnati will be early next week, and Adam Kaplan says the list of other teams interested include the Bucs, Patriots, and Broncos.

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The Chicago Bears would obviously love to have Amobi Okoye back in the fold next season, but so far, no deal has been made with the free agent defensive tackle.

Adam Kaplan is reporting that the Cincinnati Bengals will be hosting Okoye at some point in the near future, which could impact Chicago's pursuit of the former 1st round draft pick.

Stay tuned...

Three days after seeing Corey Graham sign with Baltimore, another former Bears defensive back has found work. Cornerback Zack Bowman will be staying in the NFC North, signing a one-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings.

Bowman struggled last year in Chicago, failing to maintain a starting position for more than one week after replacing Tim Jennings late in the season. Bowman returned to the bench, and now has left town.

Best of luck for Bowman in the future.

After WCG member crackedcactus selected QB Andrew Luck for the Colts with the first overall pick, Kev H has made a decision for the Skins.

With the second pick in the WCG Mock Draft, the Washington Redskins select...

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I'm bumping this back to the top, as this will be the final push to get the backup slots filled. We will add our staffers to the list for anything left over in the morning.

It's time to get this engine fired up, and we're looking for 32 members to claim a slot, and 32 backups. Whatever isn't claimed will be filled in by WCG staffers.

To claim a slot, call it in the comment section below. I'm thinking we will get two rounds in, but we will just see how that goes. The order is below... Once you claim a spot, we will add you and the backup to the table.

NOTE: No trades.

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Please join me in welcoming Dave Gilbert as the newest writer at WCG! Dave has been writing about the Bears and the NFL for a while now, and we are excited that he will be bringing his contributions to our front page. You can find him in the Twitterverse here.

Feel free to start getting on his case welcome him in the comment section below.

The wide receivers have certainly created the most hoop-la in the first few days of Free Agency, but the biggest story-line remains focused on one man: QB Peyton Manning. This morning we learned that Manning has informed the Dolphins that he will not be joining their team, and almost immediately saw the Broncos send a plane to whisk the QB up in hopes of luring #18 to Mile High.

Closer to home, the Bears newly-minted GM Phil Emery came to Chicago being lauded for his tireless work ethic, and despite already making some pretty significant moves, could very well continue to add to his roster.

Programming note: There will be a Bears team press conference at 12pm ET/ 11am CT to announce Brandon Marshall and Jason Campbell... Make sure to visit CSN Chicago for live coverage.

Make sure to visit WCG today often for all of your Free Agency/ Chicago Bears news...

As Free Agency news continues to hit the Twitter wire, we here at WCG continue to provide real-time updates on all of the significant Bears and non-Bears NFL news.

With that being said, here are a couple more nuggets as we continue our day:

- RB Michael Bush is scheduled to meet with the Bears today... It could be assumed that the team would be wanting to add a speedy back to compliment Matt Forte, but a bruiser like Bush might be enticing as well. He is also scheduled to meet with the Bengals.

- Former Bears QB Kyle Orton has been signed by the Dallas Cowboys. This is a solid addition behind Tony Romo.

UPDATE: The Minnesota Vikings have signed TE John Carlson.

UPDATE: Does Jay Cutler want to bring Eddie Royal on board? Read his comments here and judge for yourself...

More after the jump...

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The Bears will see Josh McCown return to Chicago next season, signing the backup quarterback to a one-year contract Wednesday afternoon.

This move comes one day after the team added veteran QB Jason Campbell to the roster on a one-year deal.

McCown proved an adequate plug-in last season, despite not being in the Bears plans until others did not work out. One thing for sure, the team has made sure that the QB position will be taken care of for 2012.

Make sure to keep tabs on our Free Agency Open Thread as the day progresses.