Bears chairman George McCaskey has stated that Mike Ditka's No. 89 will be last number retired by the organization, saying in a statement "we thought if there is going to be a last one, there is no more appropriate one than 89."

And that is just fine with the legendary Dan Hampton, who wore No. 99 during his Hall of Fame career with the Bears. It's been argued for years that his number should be retired as well.

"I understand. It's simple math," Hampton told the Sun-Times on Friday. "This is a franchise with so many great players. If everybody's number got retired, it would diminish the honor in a way. I understand. The kind of the trap of it all is that if you played for the Bears that you're one of many. If you played in Tampa, what is there a handful of guys?

"It's kind of a numbers game and I understand that. I know that a number of players probably understand, and I'm talking about [Mike] Singletary, Richard Dent and other great players where probably some other place would have warranted it, but for team like Chicago, it's a numbers game. You have to understand that."

"It's prohibitive in the sense that there's just so many [good players]," Hampton said. "That's the glory of actually playing for this franchise. I mean it's not Seattle, where you have got one or two guys that have actually accomplished something."

Hampton was happy to see that Ditka, who coached him for most of his career, was honored by the Bears. The team announced early Friday that Ditka's No. 89 would be retired during halftime of the Bears' "Monday Night Football" game on Dec. 9 against the Dallas Cowboys. It will be the 14th number the Bears have retired, which is the most in the league.

"It's a great honor," Hampton said. "He fits right in with [Gale] Sayers, [Dick] Butkus and the legendary Bears of all time. Beyond his playing days obviously, he was a transitional coach in the sense that he was a nationally known figure, known world-wide. You show somebody a picture in Pakistan or someplace in Africa of all the NFL head coaches today and pictures of Ditka, I bet you 90 percent would know how who Ditka is and probably very few of the coaches today would be identified. He was an iconic figure not only as a player, but as a coach. What he meant to this franchise, it's justified the retirement of his number."

Considering his accomplishments, his overall value and the way he changed the perception of the middle linebacker position, longtime Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher seems destined for the Hall of Fame.

The debate it seems is whether he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer or have to wait a little longer. He will be part of stellar group of players who will be eligible in 2018, including linebacker Ray Lewis, cornerback Ronde Barber, guard Steve Hutchinson and quite possibly receiver Randy Moss.

But one former NFL personnel man doesn't quite believe in Urlacher's credentials. Former New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi said on SiriusXM's Mad Dog Radio that Urlacher is "a borderline Hall of Famer."

"I don't know that he's a definite Hall of Famer," Accorsi said on the show (via Pro Football Talk). "I think there is a host of them, like Willie Lanier, that were dominant players. He was good, but I wouldn't put him in that level."

In his career, Urlacher had 41.5 sacks, 22 interceptions, 16 fumble recoveries and 11 forced fumbles. He's one of four players with 40 career sacks and 20 interceptions.

But Accorsi said he "definitely wouldn't" put Urlacher among the all-time great middle linebackers.

"He may get in because he got a lot of publicity and he was a hard player," he said. "But his span that he covered was really restricted. Now a lot of those middle linebackers were in those days. They didn't have three or four wide receivers so they stayed on the field for three downs. They might be off today. But, no, I certainly don't have him in [Dick] Butkus or Ray Lewis [category]. And I don't think he should be in there, really with [Joe] Schmidt and [Ray] Nitschke and those guys, either."

Here's a collection of comments from around the league about longtime Bears linebacker and his retirement after 13 seasons in the NFL:

"To go up against a guy like that in practice every day and in training camp for seven years, it's quite funny the things that he does on the field, the things he says. He'll make a defensive call or make a call check and then he'll yell out a joke at the same time. That's the kind of guy he is. He's about his business, but he likes to have fun. And likes to make sure that his teammates are working hard, but at the same time that you are having fun. He's taught me a lot of things, just from watching him. He was one of the guys I looked up to in the locker room from Day 1 of me stepping into Halas Hall. I knew that if I had the work ethic, the same attitude and mentality of a Brian Urlacher that I would last a long time in this league." -- Jason McKie, former Bears fullback

"Congratulations @BUrlacher54 on your retirement. You were one of the fiercest players I ever stood across the line of scrimmage from." -- Brett Favre on Twitter

""A great player in the NFL. And he was a really good competitor. He was a guy that you respected from a coaching standpoint because of what he could do on the field. I know he was respected by players and amongst his peers. A different kind of linebacker. There's not many guys that are 6-foot-4 playing middle linebacker. It's generally a position that shorter guys have had a lot more success, guys like Mike Singletary, who was probably 6-feet tall. Ray Lewis, about the same way. Urlacher in a lot of ways changed the position. His range at the middle linebacker position, the speed that he played with. He was super fast. The guy played free safety in college. A long career. Was a turnover machine. You always worried about him, where he was on the field, the turnovers he could create, the way he could change a game. He was good for the NFL, he was good for the game of football and it's been a great career for him." -- Jim Schwartz, Lions head coach

"He meant a lot to me because not only was he a great player, but a great person. For as big of a celebrity and well known as he is, he was so down to earth. He would help anyone with any questions they had about the defense. Brian was probably one of the smartest players I have ever played with. A lot of times he would call out the opponent's offensive play before they even ran it. I am very fortunate to have played with one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history." -- Corey Wootton, Bears defensive end

"He treated everyone with respect whether they were a 10-year vet or a rookie on practice squad. If you ever needed anything Brian was there for you. It was great having the opportunity to play with him and his leadership will be missed." -- Chris Conte, Bears safety

"He was a big kid at heart on the field. He was one of the most friendliest guys on the team, but was listed as one of the most feared guys in the league. He was always upbeat." -- Devin Hester, Bears' kick returner, to ChicagoBears.com

"He looks like he could play another two years, but he made a good decision and he had a great career. You don't look back and say, 'what if, what if.' When they got a new general manager, they got a new coach, you knew they were going to go a different way. That's all. They felt they were better off to go without him. Whether it's fair or not, it doesn't matter. That's just what happens." -- Mike Ditka

"I was a little bit surprised because I know he's been shopping around a little bit and wanted to continue to play a little bit longer. But since he's made that decision, I know he thinks it's right for him. I'm going to be disappointed not to watch him play anymore. ... The way he played the game got everybody to look at him as a leader. He relished that role." -- Rocky Long, Urlacher's coach at New Mexico

"I was very fortunate to coach such a great person, player and leader, on and off the field. The nine years with Brian were the most rewarding coaching experience of my career. Not only did I challenge him daily, he helped me become a better coach and person. He will go down in history as one of the best middle linebackers in NFL history and is a future Hall of Famer. He revolutionized the game as far as middle linebacker play." -- Bob Babich, the Bears' former LB coach

"It has to come to and, but maybe you think that he could have played forever, but you know that won't happen. I'm sad to see it end. But I'm very proud of Brian, not just the things that he accomplished on the football field, but an awful lot off the football field. He's a great role model. He's a great father. He has a lot to be proud of in those regards also." Speedy Faith, Urlacher's high school football coach in Lovington, N.M.

"Played against him numerous times and always clowned around with him before and after the game. Phenomenal player. You speak about a guy that came out of New Mexico as a safety and moved to middle linebacker and dominated the position for so many years. Eight-time Pro Bowler, 13-year pro, just a guy I looked up to, a magnificent athlete and the game is definitely going to be different without him but he laid some good work." -- Stephen Tulloch, Lions LB

"The thing I loved about going against Brian was the conversation between plays, between series, during TV timeouts. I just have a ton of respect for him and wish him nothing but the best. I'll miss him out there." -- Aaron Rodgers, Packers QB, on the "The Jim Rome Show"

"When you watched them play, the ability to line up with four our five different defensive calls . . . then the instincts, the anticipation of really knowing your offensive scheme inside and out. You could tell he was a true expert, studied the offenses. It was something we always had to make sure we had to change up because he was a very smart, very instinctive player. Made a lot of big plays in our games that we played over the last seven years against the Bears. I'm not going to miss playing against him, that's for sure." -- Mike McCarthy, Packers head coach, on SiriusXM's NFL Radio

"You were who we thought you were. Congrats." -- Arizona Cardinals Twitter

It seems like a moot point now with Marc Trestman now in charge of the Bears and Lovie Smith gone. But Brian Urlacher said he believes he'd still be playing if Smith was the Bears' head coach. Urlacher announced his retirement Wednesday.

"I do believe that, yes," Urlacher said during an interview on NFL Network's "NFL Total Access" Wednesday. "I think my desire to be there would be a lot more as well.

"Nothing against the new coaching staff because I never played for them, but when you start playing for a guy like Lovie, you want to keep playing. So I think if he was there, my desire, my want-to to play would still be there."

Trestman was hired two weeks later after an exhaustive search by Emery. Trestman did speak with Urlacher more than once this offseason, even telling the future Hall of Famer that he saw a place for him with the Bears.

"My last discussion with him was to be very specific with him that we hoped it would work out," Trestman said during a breakfast with reporters during the NFL owners meetings on March 20. "And that as much as his locker room [presence] is important, we felt collectively as a staff that he could and would be playing for us -- that we wanted him to be here to play for us. I think that he could make our football team better on the field. That's where we left it."

Several hours after Trestman made those statements, the Bears announced that a deal could not be reached with Urlacher and negotiations had ended. The Bears had offered him a one-year deal, totaling $2 million, but only $1 million guaranteed.

Urlacher said afterward that he felt the Bears' offer was an insult. He told the NFL Network on Wednesday that he doesn't regret taking the Bears' offer, which turned out to be his only one.

" I still feel I made the right decision," Urlacher said. "The reason I wouldn't take it is because of the way the situation was handled. If the situation was handled differently, if they were straight forward with me, if they told me 'Hey this all we have to offer you. We want you here another year, but we can't do anything more for you. We would like to bring a young guy in,' whatever.

"The way it was handled, they told us to make an offer and then they would do this and that. I just felt that was not the way to handle it whoever controlled that. That made me mad. Just tell me upfront, 'We want you, we don't want you, this is what we have for you.' It was not a negotiation, and it frustrated me."

"We congratulate Brian on a brilliant career and he will continue to be a welcomed member of the Bears Family in retirement."

Kicker Robbie Gould is set to return to the practice fields with his Bears teammates during organized team activities on Thursday.

Gould is yet take part in any offseason workouts with the Bears and new coach Marc Trestman because of a leg injury suffered while warming up before the Bears' game Dec. 9 against the Minnesota Vikings.

Gould flew to Dallas on Tuesday to be evaluated by his doctor. On Wednesday morning, he said on Twitter, "Finished my last dr appt. Excited to get back on the field with my teammates tomorrow. #BearDown." The Bears' have their sixth day of OTAs on Thursday.

The Bears signed undrafted free agent Austin Signor to a three-dear deal on April 19 to compete with Gould this offseason. Signor, who went to Iowa and Eastern Illinois, has been with the Bears since their voluntary minicamp in April.

Bears general manager Phil Emery always expected Gould to be ready at some point this offseason. He also said he was "absolutely" confident that Gould would rebound from his injury.

"You should see him in there working," Emery said after the draft. "He's very dedicated. He wants to have the best career possible. He's very focused. Robbie is a great guy to be around and he's fun. He's always got a little something for me when I go by him, and I really enjoy the relationship and who he is. We're very proud he's with the Bears. We fully expect him to recover."

Gould, the Bears' kicker since 2005, is in the final year of his contract and counts almost $3 million against the Bears' salary cap. He ranks fourth in field-goal accuracy in NFL history (208-for-243, 86 percent).

Way, whom the Bears signed as a free agent after the draft, just wants to help. Way is from Tulsa, Okla. and went to the University of Oklahoma in Norman.

"Moore is about five minutes from my school in Norman," Way said Tuesday after the Bears' organized team activities. "The movie theater that was hit, that's where we all go see our movies. I was in our rookie meeting [Monday] and my phone just kept buzzing and obviously I wasn't checking it or anything but I was really eager to see what I happened, because we had no idea. We had been here all day.

"I just started getting pictures, text-message pictures from people. I mean, my goodness, it's heartbreaking because it's five minutes down the road from us. ... I was just so heartbroken because, man, I just want to go home. There's not a whole lot that you can do. It's a natural disaster. It's a horrible thing. I texted all the guys from my team back home and I just said, 'Fellas, get down there. Start pulling debris off.' They're missing kids, there are families (missing)."

"What's amazing is that in just a horrible natural disaster like that, God just can bless people by people helping out each other," Way said. "You look outside and there would be a lot of times when people are running away from something that horrible, but in Norman, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, I've heard news reports that they actually had to keep people away from the accident and away from the disaster because people were wanting to help that much. So that makes my heart feel a little bit better.

"Obviously, I'll be going home for Memorial Day weekend. Anything I can do whenever I get home, I'll be helping. [It's] just a heartbreaking thing. It's a natural disaster, not a whole lot you can do. But I'm really, really encouraged to see everybody that's willing to help."

The Bears had signed Fluellen to a one-year deal on April 9 along with center Taylor Boggs and defensive end Kyle Moore. Fluellen's release leaves the Bears with just two veteran defensive tackles, Nate Collins and Corvey Irvin, behind starters Henry Melton and Stephen Paea.

The Bears signed Irvin after being invited to rookie camp on tryout basis. They also have three undrafted free agents on their roster in Christian Tupou, Brent Russell and Zach Minter.

Fluellen has played in 56 games with six starts over five seasons with the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins, recording 52 tackles, 2.5 sacks and one forced fumble.

The Bears did need to free up a spot for rookie cornerback Maurice Jones. The Temple product agreed to terms on a deal with the Bears a week ago after an impressive minicamp, but was not immediately signed.

And like that the Bears are done.

The Bears agreed to terms with first-round pick guard Kyle Long, the 20th overall selection, on a four-year deal with an option late Friday. Long was the last remaining draft pick of their 2013 class to reach a deal with the Bears.

"I just know that Chicago is one of the most historic football towns in the country," Long said after he was drafted. "There are Chicago Bears fans everywhere in the world. The 'C' on the helmet is synonymous with success and tremendous football. That's what I'm most excited about, coming to Chicago and being part of the Bears organization."

Long was a surprise pick at No. 20, but it's likely the Oregon product wouldn't have lasted past the first round. He's expected to start at guard for the Bears.

"He's got to earn his way just like all the players do, but we see a player that's going to contribute right away," general manager Phil Emery said after taking Long. "Despite his limited time at Oregon, he was a starter at the end of the season. He did very well. His Senior Bowl was excellent. I thought he was the best offensive linemen at the Senior Bowl so we expect him to contribute right away."

Long isn't allowed to partake in the Bears' organized team activities because of a league rule that prohibits players from participating until after their college exams. But Long was everything they expected him to be and more when they got a close look at him during their rookie minicamp earlier this month. He lined up at both guard spots and right tackle.

"You can feel him move around and his athleticism," coach Marc Trestman said. "I saw him run, and certainly, he runs very, very well, very smoothly."

Sadowski, a St. Rita graduate, joined the Bears in 2005 and spent last year as one of the team's national scouts. He has 16 years of NFL scouting experience, beginning with the New Orleans Saints (1998-2005).

"Mark has been essential in the scouting and the evaluation of player talent since joining the Bears," general manager Phil Emery said in a statement. "He has also been integral in establishing how we are using technology to elevate our scouting process and personnel operations."

Ballard, the Bears' previous director of pro scouting, left to be the Kansas City Chiefs' director of player personnel. Monago was an executive scout for the Bears who was in charge of scouting the very important SEC. He recently joined the St. Louis Rams' as a national scout.

Earlier this month, the Bears also hired Ryan Kessenich (scout/player personnel), Jay Muraco (East Coast scout) and Andre Odom (scouting assistant).

Other internal promtions include: Breck Ackley to South Central area scout, covering Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Iowa; David Williams to scout/player Personnel after working as a scouting assistant; and Sam Summerville to Southeast Area scout, covering Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee, after working as the team's East Coast scout.

Sadowksi was the Bears' Southeast area scout from 2005-12) after working for the Saints as a pro scout.

Emery was asked about the chances of Urlacher re-signing with the Bears.

"Brian was a great player and still is a great player," Emery said. "I have the utmost respect for Brian. As I've told people before, I've got far too many gray hairs to never say never. But obviously we've made an investment in terms of bringing a couple of key veterans in and drafting a couple rookies. So I would say that that is less likely to happen than more likely."

Gabe Carimi's decision to skip the Bears' offseason training activities thus far had led to rampant speculation that the 2011 first-round pick's time in Chicago may be winding down.

But Bears general manager Phil Emery said the team would welcome him back with "open arms" during an interview with Alex Marvez and Gil Brandt on SiriusXM NFL Radio late Wednesday.

"This is a voluntary situation and every player has to make his own decisions," Emery said. "Gabe has made a decision that he wants to stay in Arizona and train, and we respect that. And he'll be welcomed with open arms when he comes back."

Carimi was the Bears' starting right tackle for the first 10 games of last season before being replaced by veteran Jonathan Scott. Injuries led to Carimi getting three starts at right guard, and he performed well.

But despite all the playing time, Carimi was never healthy last season after dislocating his right knee cap in Week 2 of the 2011 season and needing multiple surgeries.

Bears coach Marc Trestman acknowledged during voluntary minicamp that Carimi wasn't healthy last season and was looking forward to him competing at guard -- where Trestman felt Carimi was a better fit.

The Bears, though, did draft guard Kyle Long in the first round this year, while signing veteran guard Matt Slauson (a three-year starter at left guard for the New York Jets) to a one-year deal.

Carimi's absence was the main subject of the Bears' OTAs on Tuesday, which was open to the media. Carimi was the only notable absence that day.

"I don't play that position, but I think it's pretty important to be here right now with all the new faces around and the new offense," said running back Matt Forte, who skipped out on OTAs last year because of his contract negotiations. "In the meetings, we're not going over the same stuff. We're going over new stuff every day.

"Gabe is very intelligent. Don't get me wrong. He could come in and learn the playbook during camp and be good then. He knows himself better than anybody else does. He knows what he needs to get better at."

Added center Roberto Garza: "I know Gabe's working out hard and getting his body ready to compete and putting himself in a situation to make this team. It's all about putting yourself in the best situation physically and mentally. I can't speak for him. I'm sure he's working hard and getting better."