Contract negotiation has come a long way with the advent of technology.

When it got out last week that theBears might be concerned about the durability of Matt Forte's knees, many people thought it made sense. You're talking about a player who had knee issues in college, played most of his sophomore year on a bad wheel, and was knocked out of the last quarter of his 4th season with knee injuries.

Well, in a way that probably wasn't even thought of 25 years ago, Matt Forte found a way to strike out at those rumors. He used, of course, twitvid. But is that a great idea from his standpoint?

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Matt Forte won't practice with his team while in an on-going contract dispute.Michael Bush is taking the first team reps during OTAs this week, as reported by the SEIF over at ESPN.

This should surprise exactly no one on the planet, but Forte is continuing to try and use whatever leverage he has left to get that new deal.

Some thoughts after the jump.

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Per ESPN, the Chicago Bears and sixth-round pick Isaiah Frey have agreed to terms on a four-year deal.

Frey is the fourth draft pick to have signed. The others are:

Second Round Pick Alshon Jeffery

Fourth Round Pick Evan Rodriguez

Seventh Round PIck Greg McCoy

Cliff Stein was obviously not messing around with his quick turnaround deadline. Expect more deals very soon.

The Chicago Bears swapped 2nd round picks with the St. Louis Rams, and also gave up their 5th round selection, to draft

WR Alshon Jeffery

from South Carolina.

The former Gamecock had 8 touchdown catches last season, as part of a season with 49 receptions for 762 yards. This represents a small drop-off coming from his 2010 season, but the Gamecocks suffered from inconsistent quarterbacking last season.

The Bears have chosen a tool which could be very beneficial lining up on the other side of the field from Marshall.

Well, now we know when we can first see what these two are going to look like when reunited.

Much like previous seasons, the 2012 NFL schedule is starting to leak out, as we approach the official unveiling at 6pm CT.

Of course, the Giants schedule always seems to make its way out early, and you can check it out at the mothership. With the Bears schedule starting to leak out, there's some interesting primetime sessions already. Keep it here as we update the schedule after the jump.

Update: Now complete with times.

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The Chicago Bears have released wide receiver Max Komar, per Max Komar himself:

The Bears released me today because of a lingering injury that occurred late last season and got progressively worse this offseason!

Komar did not record any notable stats for the Bears in the 2011 season. Best wishes to him on a recovery and a third chance somewhere.

So it turns out, if you stop publicly complaining about things (and ask for reasonable amounts), the Chicago Bears are more than willing to get your deals worked out.

Last summer Lance Briggs asked for a re-worked deal, as he was entering the loss monetarily-productive section of his contract. This promptly got him laughed at by many, including readers of this site.

New comes today, though, that the Bears have locked Briggs up through 2014. Per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune:

#Bears take care of Lance Briggs issue, give perennial Pro Bowl LB a 1-yr contract extension through 2014. No financial details have been released yet, but it's not unreasonable to assume there's some kind of signing bonus to help him be UPDATE: 3 years, $17.5 million for Briggs, per ProFootballTalk

Oh, and perhaps Matt Forte will figure something out from it.

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It appears that the draft days that David Taylor so gloriously documented for us are over.

The NFL announced the full draft order today, and as we found out yesterday, there are no compensatory picks for the Bears.

They do, however, have a pick in every round, something we aren't familiar with, and they also are not absolutely tied to having to draft any one position.

As this can be unsettling for the sensitive stomachs of many of our readers, please go after the jump to see when the Bears are picking.

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Matt Forte earned his degree in finance from Tulane University in 2009. This has not, however, seemed to help him understand how negotiating works.

Shortly after the news came out that the Bears had signed free agent RB Michael Bush, The Twittersphere was ablaze, and Forte jumped in to discuss his contract situation. First, by retweeting Greg Olsen, of all people. The first:

Oh, and it gets better.

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In a move that is sure to warm the heart of our own Dane Noble, the Chicago Bears have re-signed S Craig Steltz to a two-year deal, per Vaughn McClure.

Steltz, a 4th round pick in 2008 out of LSU, played all 16 games of 2011 in some capacity, starting in 5 of them. He is a frequent contributor to the Bears' special team strengths. Last year Steltz had two forced fumbles, 32 tackles, and 11 assists.

Per Dickerson and Wright, the deal is 2 years, $1.64 million. Not a bad chunk of change for a guy who doesn't always make it on the field.

The Chicago Bears have signed LB Blake Costanzo to a two-year deal, per Chicagobears.com

Costanzo was recently with the San Francisco 49ers, who you will recall rode a perfect storm of being good all season to a deep run in the playoffs.

A special teams standout, Brad Biggs had this to note about the Bears newest ST ace:

In 49ers' playoff win over Saints, @BlakeCostanzo51 forced one fumble on special teams and recovered another.

Another solid free agency move for Phil Emery, who appears to be settling into his new role very well.

Per Adam Schefter, the Bears have agreed to a one-year deal with QB Jason Campbell. Campbell has been a starting quarterback with the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins, and is coming off an injury-shortened 2011 season, suffering a broken collarbone against the Browns.

Before the injury, Campbell was posting a quarterback rating of 76.5, averaging 185 yds/game, with 10TD and 6 INT.

Details of the contract have not been divulged yet, but Phil Emery and his team are taking care of business.

In other news, TE Kellen Davis is going to visit with some teams, notably the Dallas Cowboys.

We'll bring you more when we know about it. Feedback from around the Twitterverse after the jump.

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Hey, look, I found this picture of Brandon Marshall in a Blue and Orange shirt. He should be getting ready to wear a lot more of those again, as well as his trusty old #15.

He, of course, is the big news of the day, as the Bears pulled off the trade with the Dolphins for a 3rd round pick this year and next.

The Bears are also apparently looking at the back-up QB position, but may be out of the Mario Williams lottery. Some other Free Agency news from around the league after the jump.

Update 7:30pm

The Bears are reportedly very interested in defensive end Mincey, from Jacksonville, according to so many Twitter sources that we won't bother to listen here.

Per Schefter, here's the deals of the V-Jax deal in Tampa:

• 5 years, $55.55 million
• $26 million guaranteed
  
• $36 million in 1st 3 years, $26 million in 1st 2

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The Chicago Bears locked up Tim Jennings for a two-year deal shortly before Free Agency begins at 3pm. From chicagobears.com:

LM: #Bears have agreed to terms on two-year contract with CB Tim Jennings, who was due to become unrestricted free agent.

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The Saints have worked out a deal with potential Chicago Bears target Marques Colston, per Jay Glazer.

FOXSports.com has learned that wide receiver Marques Colston agreed to a five-year contract extension just hours before he was set to become an unrestricted free agent.

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With 2012 NFL Free Agency set to begin tomorrow, we are in that Free Agency Dead Zone, where fans have mapped out the beginnings of their teams' path to glory, real-world limitations be damned.

It is in the next day that the free agency rumor mill will hit maximum production output, with big names bandied about, and teams salivating over their chances.


Two big names keep showing up for the Bears: WR Vincent Jackson, and DE Mario Williams. Let us know what you think.

Deals for Arian Foster and Marshawn Lynch have helped establish the 2012 Running Back market. Should the Bears' new GM stick to his guns, or acquiesce to the demands of #22?

With the franchise tag coming and going Monday afternoon, it was absolutely no surprise that the Bears put the franchise tag on Matt Forte late last week. Now the Bears have a decision to make...give Forte the similar money he's reportedly looking for, or part ways with the 26 year old running back. I hate to tell you this Bears fans, but it may not be unreasonable for the Bears to consider having someone else line up in the backfield for the 2012 season.

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The franchise tag came and went at 4pm ET, and those of us who are prone to following every little move of the NFL will now be able to get a more clear picture of what Free Agency will look like next week.

Come with us beyond the jump for a look at who got tags where, and talk a little bit about who is available.

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Per Sean Jensen and many others, the Bears have placed the franchise tag on RB Matt Forte.

With the deadline approaching on Monday afternoon, it seems the Bears saw not much value in waiting until Monday to make this move. While it doesn't negate a future deal, it's certain to have an effect on any ongoing negotiations.

Updates after the jump.

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Hey, it's the combine! The NFL has a page for it and everything.

Who can run a completely uncontested 40 yard dash the fastest? Can anybody bench press more than Paea?

Why does Lovie look so confused? These are the questions that Indy week provides. Let's look at some Combine business below.

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Giants	6:30PM ET (NBC)	Patriots

The Super Bowl is here! Come for the football, try to avoid the Madonna, and all around let's have a great game! And a bonus after the jump!

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To quote a friend:

Poor guy. Thinks he might be the next GM one week, and unemployed the next.

Per multiple reports, including this one by Sean Jensen, Tim Ruskell is no longer the Bears Director of Player Personnel.

Reportedly well-liked by the Bears brass, Ruskell's firing MUTUALLY AGREED UPON DEPARTURE is the first big move by newly-christened General Manager Phil Emery.

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George McCaskey, Ted Phillips, and Lovie Smith have found their man.

Per Dan Pompei's story here, the Chicago Bears have named Phil Emery their new general manager.

The future of the Bears is being placed in the hands of Phil Emery, who has been chosen to be the team's new general manager.

Emery will take over for Jerry Angelo, who was let go from the Bears after the collapse of the 2011 season.

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The things he's had to say about the offense are nice, but all he's really doing is speaking common sense.


Have we really come to this, Bears fans?

Just a few short weeks after being promoted to the offensive coordinator position, and narrowly missing the opportunity to interview for someone else's Head Coach position, Mike Tice is already being very outspoken about how he intends to run his offense.

The only problem is that the things he's saying aren't earth-shattering...they're just common sense.

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The question speaks for itself. Have at it.

The news just keeps pouring out.

Sean Jensen reports that Tice is not going to go to his interview with the Raiders, and will remain with the Bears.

Mike Tice will not interview for the Oakland Raiders heading coaching vacancy, the team announced Monday evening.

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Leave it to the Bears, that's for sure. If there's a way for the hiring of a position to become as messy and convoluted as possible, by goodness, they're going to do their best to find a way to make that happen.

After an...interesting afternoon of news, rumor, and hearsay, the Bears have officially announced that they're bringing back two individuals for secondary interviews for the position, and by this notion, have seemingly eliminated three of their first round interviews.

ChicagoBears.com has this tidbit:

LM: Bears bringing GM candidates Phil Emery and Jason Licht back to Halas Hall for second interviews this week.

Emery and Licht are coming back--Raye, Ross and Ruskell are seemingly all out. This is some good news for a lot of folks.

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Giants	February 5th, 2012, 6:25pm ET, NBC	Patriots

The match-up for Super Bowl XLVI is set, and it will be a re-match of a game we just saw a few years ago.

The Giants were the beneficiary of an untimely special teams drop, and the Patriots were the beneficiary of a missed field goal.

Can we now say that special teams wins (or loses) championships? Stick with WCG this week and we'll break this game down like no other can.

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Giants	6:30PM ET (FOX)	49ers

The question now is: Who will take on the Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2 weeks?

The New York Giants won their division in the last game of the season, while the San Francisco 49ers had the second best record in the NFC. Rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh has led an impressive turnaround of this 49ers team, and the team looks to take that a step further today.

Eli Manning's Giants have a habit of winning some games like this. Look for overwhelming defense, aerial acrobats, and bold calls from Harbaugh. This has the makings of an epic postseason match-up. Let's hope it lives up to that potential.