RealGM

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7298122

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) - Lance Briggs once said he'd never play another down for the Chicago Bears. Now, he apparently wouldn't mind sticking around.

"Absolutely," he said.

The Pro Bowl linebacker said he ended his media boycott Wednesday because the league intervened. He reversed course from his comments in the offseason, when he blasted management for labeling him a franchise player and threatened a prolonged holdout.

"I'd love to be here," he said. "I've always wanted to be here, regardless of what I've said. I've always wanted to be here."

Sweet.

He can't leave. His new baby/baby momma are forcing him to stay...

We need him. Next year he'd be our best linebacker, if he's not already.

Yeah, I said it.

As good as he's playing right now, I'm not sure if he's worth the lengthy contract (for more bucks). Urlacher, imo, is going to be good for another 2 to 3 years, and then he's done. Heck, Mac of Mac/Jurko/Harry said the Bears should Urlacher walk after his contract is up. I can see that viewpoint. I think we can find another hard hitting LB via the DRAFT. Right now, we have a ton of holes to fill. We need to draft a good back who can pick up more than 2.8 yards a carry (or whatever the hell Benson's avg is!), get a QB who we can have to guide an offense for 5 years, get some safeties, and more importantly, get some new youthful offensive linemen. I think Briggs is a bit of luxury, and we should use him to fill some of our other gaps. I can't think of any real good trade offers off the top of my head, but probably in a few weeks maybe when we know if our team is looking to get back into contention, or whether this past Sunday's victory was like being at Scores.

Now that we don't figure to spend a lot of money on Grossman and possibly Berrian, perhaps we can give Briggs the kind of money he wants (or close to it). The way he's playing right now, he'd be worth it.

We do need a really good safety and another stud offensive lineman first though.

UPDATE

Bears Open To Talking New Contract With Briggs
15th October, 2007 - 6:43 pm

Chicago Tribune wrote:General manager Jerry Angelo didn't comment last week after Lance Briggs broke his season-long silence, but Angelo addressed the prospect of the linebacker signing a long-term deal.

"We've never closed the door on that," Angelo told WBBM-AM on its pregame show. "We said to Lance he'd be a Bear this year. We didn't go any further because we didn't put any gray into the equation, but we never shut the door and [we'll] wait to see how things play out."

^ Of course the Bears want to re-sign him; they always have. They just don't want to pay him the kind of money he wants... and frankly deserves.

With the way Urlacher has been playing (badly) and the way Briggs has been playing (very good) he's putting a lot of pressure on the Bears to retain him. If we lose him and Urlacher keeps playing the way he is, our linebacking core all of a sudden could be very average.

^^ maybe even below average

Lance is so up and down. He needs to can his a-hole agent. That's the only way I think the team can avoid future headaches like this past off-season.

SWIFTSLICK wrote:Lance is so up and down. He needs to can his a-hole agent. That's the only way I think the team can avoid future headaches like this past off-season.

His agent is indeed a major part of his problem.

Briggs is another good example of why the franchise tag works for the player. He got all that tag money up front, now he goes out and plays very well and will probably earn more than what he would have last summer. Last summer he was dealing from a position of weakness--he grossly overestimated his value both on the market and to the Bears. Now he's got all the leverage, and with #54 looking worse every week and Briggs appearing to step up in a leadership capacity on-field while Urlacher just stands there with hands on hips, he's cementing his value as the most important defensive player.

I expect Urlacher to walk after next year too, and the Bears would be wise to let him go. There's an incredible amount of tread on those tires, and his arthritic back ain't gonna get any better.