With degree in hand, rookie LaRocque won't miss action
The Bears got good news today in regards to rookie linebacker Joey LaRocque.
The seventh-round pick from Oregon State will not be held up by the rule that prevents players from reporting to teams until after graduation has been held at their schools.
Oregon State is on the quarter system and does not hold graduation until June 15. By then only a few days will remain in the Bears’ offseason program. It’s a rule designed to show the NFL isn’t trying to take players away from schools early even though many players stop attending classes in the spring in order to prepare for the draft. So, even if a guy has put the books away, he has to wait until his school issues caps and gowns.
Tracked down a quarterbacks coach in the league to pick his brain about Caleb Hanie, the Colorado State quarterback who was signed to a contract as an undrafted free agent to compete with Southern Illinois’ Nick Hill. The coach spoke on the condition he not be identified.
``He did throw quite a few interceptions but we thought that he was on a bad football team trying to make plays more than really making poor decisions. He didn’t have a great team around him and it looked like he was just a competitor, trying to make plays and give his team a chance to win more than having a chronic problem making bad decisions. He’s got pretty good size (6-2, 236 pounds), really good arm strength. He was active enough in the pocket where he could make some plays. I liked him.’’
The coach also discussed USC’s John David Booty, who the Bears passed on in the fourth round to draft LSU safety Craig Steltz, and Michigan’s Chad Henne, who the Bears could have nabbed in the second round.
Boston College G Poles to sign deal if Achilles tendon checks out
Remember all the work general manager Jerry Angelo did with Boston College?
He attended at least two BC games in 2007 and the Bears have seen the Chestnut, Mass., school as much as any north of the Mason-DIxon line and along the East Coast over the last two years after drafting guard Josh Beekman out of there in 2007.
Angelo was in South Bend, Ind., last season when the Eagles were there. That’s the day guard Ryan Poles’ season ended with a torn left Achilles tendon. The Bears liked him then and like him now. A source told the Sun-Times they are bringing Poles in for a tryout this weekend during their rookie minicamp. Provided his injury is cleared by the team’s medical staff, he will sign a free-agent contract.
With the ?? pick in the 2009 draft, the Chicago Bears select ...
If you thought the 2008 quarterback class was lacking ... do like the Cubs and wait ’til next year.
The 2009 crop of passers could be even less inspiring, hardly the kind of news a franchise in search of a franchise quarterback for decades needs to hear. Suffice to say no one is going to be drawing comparisons to 1983. Or 1999 for that matter. Remember five passers were taken in the first round that year and the 2009 draft will mark the 10-year anniversary of the Bears’ selection of Cade McNown. Only Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper had success from that group.
General manager Jerry Angelo cited, among other reasons, the poor talent available this year as one of the reasons the Bears elected not to draft one this year.
Sears, 6-0, 257 pounds, was one of the Hoosiers’ two captains last season. He played in 13 games last season, scoring six touchdowns.
He’s the second Hoosier to be coming in. Cornerback Leslie Majors, the Thornwood product, signed a free-agent deal. The Bears missed out on a third. They tried to woo IU long snapper Tim Bugg to show up on a tryout basis also, but he’s chosen instead to make trips to Cincinnati and the New York Giants for tryouts instead.
It's not like what the team experienced last season with Notre Dame running back Darius Walker. The Bears had reached a verbal agreement with him before he changed his mind and eventually signed with Houston.
This was a better offer with more upside for Weil.
Tuesday morning tidbits: Williams makes strong 1st impression
The gig of Tuesday Morning Quarterback is already occupied, so we’ll try out hand at a little Tuesday morning draft analysis.
The Bears have been the first club the last two summers to have all of their draft picks signed, but contract negotiator Cliff Stein has a little more work to make that happen again with 12 draft picks. Given where the Bears selected, it shouldn’t be an issue getting everyone to Bourbonnais on time and it doesn’t really matter if they sign July 4 or July 22.
Second-round draft pick Matt Forte will be working off the deal of Sidney Rice, the No. 44 pick from 2007. Rice collected a signing bonus of $1.316 million for his four-year deal.
Bears invite Missouri-Rolla WR Gronewold to minicamp
The Bears have extended a minicamp tryout invitation to Missouri-Rolla wide receiver Ashton Gronewold.
The 5-10, 190-pounder holds virtually every record at the Division II school. He caught 32 touchdown passes over the last two seasons and had backto-back 1,000-yard seasons. He’s undersized but has toughness, and the Bears went into the school to check him out, a source said. He also worked out at the University of Missouri’s pro day.
Walker lands in Carolina day after Bears replace him
Darwin Walker has a new home.
The ex-Bears defensive tackle signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers today to help shore up a need that became glaring after Kris Jenkins was traded to the Jets and the club passed over the position in the draft.
Walker was cut loose in February following an injury-riddled season as the Bears opted not to pay him a $5.2 million roster bonus. At 30, he can still be effective but he has to stay on the field.
If the Bears had not grabbed Nebraska cornerback Zak Bowman in the fifth round when they did, he wouldn’t have been on the board again when their turn came again.
The Bears selected him at No. 142 overall and went back and grabbed Michigan State tight end Kellen Davis 16 picks later with No. 158, acquired in a fourth-round swap with Tampa Bay.
UPDATED 1:50: Bears release list of free agents signed
The Bears released a list of undrafted free agents they have signed to contracts:
OT Cody Balogh Montana
DB Trey Brown UCLA
DE Joe Clermond Pitt
DT David Faaeteete Oregon
WR Curtis Hamilton Western Kentucky
QB Caleb Hanie Colorado State
QB Nick Hill Southern Illinois
K Shane Longest St. Xavier
CB Leslie Majors Indiana
DE Nick Osborn San Diego State
Illinois kicker Jason Reda went to Cleveland as a UDFA. Illini defensive tackle Chris Norwell hooked on with New England and safety Kevin Mitchell is headed to Washington.
Definitively, this is the final post of the evening.
Couple quick thoughts here before I cash in after a whirlwind weekend.
*** General manager Jerry Angelo was genuinely thrilled with his draft class and it was interesting to see him buzz about the first guy to the last. Vanderbilt offensive tackle Chris Williams will meet the press at Halas Hall this morning, and Angelo is happy he’s arriving. But he even talked at length about Arkansas wide receiver Marcus Monk, the 248th overall pick. Had a knee injury not derailed him, Monk would have been a top prospect.
*** Angelo talked also spoke at length about the reasons behind drafting LSU safety Craig Steltz at No. 120 after two trades down in the fourth round from 110 to 115 and again to 120. The Bears felt he was a starting-caliber player and Angelo said it was the first time in seven drafts here he can remember scouts and coaches being in agreement on that for a fourth-round pick. The Bears have had some good ones over the years, too, including cornerback Nathan Vasher, defensive end Alex Brown and quarterback Kyle Orton.
