Recently in Offensive line Category

Kirk Barton will not be returning to the Bears.

The rookie seventh-round pick, who was waived Wednesday to make room for veteran Fred Miller, was claimed off waivers this afternoon by the Miami Dolphins. He will join the Dolphins' 53-man roster.

Barton, a four-year starter at Ohio State, was the No. 3 tackle almost from the start of training camp with top pick Chris Williams being injured, and he played extensively in preseason giving the Dolphins and every other team plenty of tape to scout.

The Bears are planning to bring back offensive tackle Kirk Barton to the practice squad this afternoon provided he clears waivers, a league source said.

Barton was released Wednesday to make room for veteran Fred Miller.

After a month of talking with Fred Miller about a return to the the Bears, the club and the player have reached agreement.

A source close to the player said the 35-year-old offensive tackle will sign a one-year contract to serve as a backup offensive tackle and should be on the practice field this afternoon at Halas Hall.

Miller worked out for the Bears on Tuesday and after the team swung and missed in its bid to claim James Marten, a third-round pick from Dallas in 2007 who was released Saturday, off waivers on Monday, it apparently went back to Plan A and got a deal done with Miller.

The Bears might not be done reworking their offensive line after the trade for guard Dan Buenning last week.

In fact, they made a move for a tackle on Monday only to lose out.

The Bears placed a waiver claim for James Marten, who was released by the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, but the the third-round pick from 2007 was awarded to the Oakland Raiders, the other team to submit a claim for him.

Dallas had to clear a roster spot to sign a fourth wide receiver, Mike Jefferson, for its game at Cleveland and the team's plan was to add Marten to the practice squad. It's interesting because in choosing to part ways with a high draft pick, the Cowboys kept 11 defensive backs. That gives you an idea of how he had advanced for them. Marten was inactive for every game last season, and spent some time working at guard this summer.

Offensive linemen can be a pretty reserved bunch. They never get too high, never get too low and typically let their actions speak for them. So Dan Buenning was about as excited as you'll catch a lineman Tuesday afternoon a short while after he was informed Tampa Bay had traded him to the Bears for the Bucs' sixth-round pick that they already held from the Brian Griese deal.

Buenning worked at center this summer and had more or less been fazed out in Tampa after a strong start to his career there which began when he was a fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin in 2005. He was one of only four rookie linemen in the league to start all 16 games that season and looked to be a fixture for years to come. But then he tore an ACL on Thanksgiving Day in 2006 and when Tampa Bay went young at guard last season with Arron Sears and Davin Joseph, he was on the sideline looking in.

With Jeff Faine getting a big contract to play center for the Bucs, and with another draft pick invested in an interior lineman to add Rutgers' Jeremy Zuttah, who the Bears took a good look at before the draft, Buenning looked out of the mix. He became really out of the mix Tuesday when Tampa Bay swung a deal to acquire Sean Mahan from Pittsburgh.

When in doubt, follow the money.

It's advice that can spill over into all walks of life, and it certainly holds true in the NFL.

Let's take a look at the situation involving Fred Miller, who the Bears have offered a one-year contract to for the minimum-salary benefit of $830,000. That means he would count just $445,000 against the salary cap to presumably come in and be a backup. Miller has made it clear he would like to return to the Bears, and his camp has maintained all along that if the money is close, not even, but close, he will return to the Bears.

With the Miller Watch now three weeks old, and news of the contract offer now nearly a week old, you can come to one conclusion--the money isn't close. Either that or Miller's been too busy at a family wedding in Houston to reach out to the club or his agent. It's fair to assume Miller would like some type of provision where he would be paid starter money if he indeed plays a significant amount of time. The Bears have said they're happy with John Tait and John St. Clair and that looked all well and good until St. Clair had two false starts and missed a block that led to a hit and interception. That happened all in a span of four snaps Thursday night at Cleveland, two of which were wiped out by penalty.

First-round draft pick Chris Williams announced on the team's Web site that he would like to be able to play at least half of the season during his rookie year.

"I'd like to play at least half the season," Williams said Tuesday in a story the team published today.

"It was a shock, but it was also a relief," he also said. "I knew surgery would fix it. It was something that got real bad quick, so I knew that surgery would reverse it just as quick and was excited about it."

SEATTLE--If the Bears are looking for an offensive tackle--and shouldn't they be--Luke Petitgout represents an interesting possibility.

The problem is it's questionable whether or not he could help them now and the Bears need depth with only seventh-round pick Kirk Barton and undrafted rookie free agent Cody Balogh are behind John Tait and John St. Clair right now.

Petitgout was cut loose by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after he failed a physical. The Bucs used the roster spot to sign ex-Bears fullback J.D. Runnels.

SEATTLE--The Bears' rebuilding offensive line will not get the kind of test you'd like to see tonight in preparation for the regular season.

Seattle left defensive end Patrick Kerney will sit out the game. He's been on the sidelines for most of training camp with a sore left calf, as much as anything a move to make sure the Pro Bowl performer is fresh for the season. Kerney made a mess of the Bears' line when the teams met here last November, picking up three sacks and stripping the ball from quarterback Rex Grossman for a turnover.

Kerney would be lining up over right tackle John Tait. Right now, the premier rushers at the beginning of the season are going to be across from left tackle John St. Clair. Most of the attention in Indianapolis is focused on quarterback Peyton Manning, who has yet to practice since having surgery on his left knee last month. The Colts have been ultra-secretive when it comes to Manning and he hasn't been so much as spotted at training camp.

Right end Dwight Freeney will miss his third preseason game and he's yet to be cleared for a full go in practice either. That could change this coming week for the elite pass rusher.

In Carolina, where the Bears will visit in Week 2, Julius Peppers has made the transition from the left to right side, so he will be across from St. Clair also.

Some more notes about tonight's action from Qwest Field:

If the Bears are looking into the free-agent market for possibilities at guard, it's slim pickings.

That is what you would expect in early August when training camp rosters are full.

Ruben Brown, the ex-Bear, remains a free agent. He'd expressed interest in continuing his career in the spring but making a move to bring him back could be viewed as an admission of error that the Bears did not work to re-sign him after last season.

Then there is ex-Cleveland Brown LeCharles Bentley, who was let go in June. It's hard to say what he could offer. Serious injuries have prevented him from doing much of anything the last two seasons after signing a $36 million, six-year contract in March 2006 to move over from the New Orleans Saints.

Forget the quarterback evaluation for the time being. The team that gets off the bus running has more issues on the offensive line than a rookie who can't seem to get on the field.

While the Bears try to figure out what is making first-round pick Chris Williams' back act up, they will also have to figure out what to do at left guard. At least for the time being.

Veteran Terrence Metcalf is expected to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and will miss at least a few weeks. If it's a simple procedure like former defensive tackle Ian Scott had two summers ago, he could be back in three or four weeks, in time for the season opener. But that's if it is an easy cleanout.

The top options right now are Josh Beekman and Anthony Oakley. Then there are late-round picks Kirk Barton and Chester Adams and former sixth-round pick Tyler Reed. For the sake of being complete, undrafted rookie free agent Ryan Poles is also on the roster.

Chances are good the Bears will get one mandatory piece back today in their efforts to rebuild the offensive line.

Six-time Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz will take a physical before practice this afternoon at 3. If his repaired Achilles tendon checks out, he will be removed from the physically unable to perform list and cleared to participate, at least partially, in practice.

Kreutz has missed the first six days of training camp and seven practices as he mends. He underwent a procedure to clear up a minor injury that has bothered him for years a week before camp. He did some running on the side on Monday and there were no setbacks with that work. This would give him more than a week to prepare for the preseason opener Aug. 7 vs. Kansas City at Soldier Field.