Bears Sign Peppers to 6-year Deal

[LUKE23]

This improves the Bears, but not enough for me to worry about them at all. Overall their D is aging, and their offensive line is worse than ours while having some of the worst skill position receiving talent in the NFL. All of that on top of the fact that Cutler is a massive hothead.

The division is between GB and Minny next year. If Favre doesn't come back, GB is the favorite.

[LarryHarris]

This improves the Bears, but not enough for me to worry about them at all. Overall their D is aging, and their offensive line is worse than ours while having some of the worst skill position receiving talent in the NFL. All of that on top of the fact that Cutler is a massive hothead.

The division is between GB and Minny next year. If Favre doesn't come back, GB is the favorite.

As aggressive as they've been, I'm surprised that they didn't make a move for a WR as well...

[Ruben Douglas]

There are numerous reports of the guy taking plays off, including reports done by the Panthers for the past 2 seasons. Just because 1 writer says the opposite doesn't really mean anything. Oh, and pointing to the fact that Cutler is a bum when he was acquired by CHI doesn't give the author any more credibility, anyone who has seen him play knew he'd bust in CHI.

There have been reports. And those reports, from what I've read, all say that he hasn't taken any more plays off than any other player on the Panthers. So I don't know what you're trying to get at. Regardless of whether or not he takes plays off, he is a factor on Defense. If he wasn't, he wouldn't have been the #1 Free Agent this year. There has been debate about his contract, here is how it breaks down and it's not that bad for the Bears...or as bad as I feared.

Here are Peppers' annual base salaries:
2010: $20 million (uncapped)
2011: $11.5 million
2012: $9 million
2013: $13 million
2014: $14 million
2015: $16.5 million
TOTAL: $84 million

If he sucks after year 3, you cut him. It's a good year to have money to spend in FA...if only for structuring a big contract.

This improves the Bears, but not enough for me to worry about them at all. Overall their D is aging, and their offensive line is worse than ours while having some of the worst skill position receiving talent in the NFL. All of that on top of the fact that Cutler is a massive hothead.

I'm not worried about Cutler being a hot head. But you're correct about the Defense. It needs some work. However, the WR position isn't nearly as bad as people who didn't watch the Bears every game think. They developed down the stretch. What you saw in the first Packers game was a 180 degree difference than the game against Minnesota. Aromashodu, has become a legitimate receiver...at number 1? No. But a dependable WR. Just becuase they don't have No.1 guy (which hurts) doesn't mean that Aromashodu, Knox, Bennett, and Hester are bad.

The Packers are obviously the team to beat in the division, but with that O-Line you never know.

[LUKE23]

Just becuase they don't have No.1 guy (which hurts) doesn't mean that Aromashodu, Knox, Bennett, and Hester are bad.

Come on man, that is absolutely brutal for a WR corps. Not one guy on that list is a guy where you say, "gotta give safety help on him".

[El Duderino]

I'm not worried about Cutler being a hot head. But you're correct about the Defense. It needs some work. However, the WR position isn't nearly as bad as people who didn't watch the Bears every game think. They developed down the stretch. What you saw in the first Packers game was a 180 degree difference than the game against Minnesota. Aromashodu, has become a legitimate receiver...at number 1? No. But a dependable WR. Just becuase they don't have No.1 guy (which hurts) doesn't mean that Aromashodu, Knox, Bennett, and Hester are bad.

Of course WR is a major question mark for you guys in the Martz 3 WR base offense that doesn't throw much to the tight ends. That said, it sure seems to me that offensive line should be the Bears biggest concern. That Martz scheme relies almost entirely on 5 and 7 step drops to try and allow for his down field routes to open up. On teams where Martz had a poor offensive line, the quarterbacks got hit and sacked a ton. With no high draft picks, unless Angelo can pull a rabbit out of his asss, it's going to take a minor miracle to keep pass rushers from killing Cutler and forcing him into more boneheaded throws.

I understand why they went after Peppers. They used the uncapped years to frontload a big chunk of his contract. He will help the defense. I just see lots of sacks, interceptions, and tantrums though coming from Cutler as his offensive line can't keep pass rushers off him and he has no upper tier WR's to consistently get open. It should be great entertainment to watch.

[ChronicKerr]

While it's a lot of money for a 30 year old DE the Bears paid him 20mil in the uncapped year and have an out after this season if they want. They can cut him at NO COST after this season voiding the rest of the contract. OR, they can keep him for 2 more years guarenteed 20.5 mil total for year 2 and 3. The Bears set themselves up quite nicely to motivate Peppers to continue to play hard otherwise he's right back where he started next season. In essence, this can be viewed as a 1 year deal for 20 mil or 3 years 40.5 mil. Had Carolina tagged him again it would have been for MORE than the 20 mil that he receives in year 1 with Chicago. If he declines like everyone is saying in 2-3 years then the Bears won't pay him what the contract states because he won't be worth it and it isn't guarenteed. The contract looks real nice with all the big numbers but in reality the deal is set up quite nicely for Chicago to get the most out of him the next 3 years with very little risk.

[Wiscfan92]

When this trade came out last week or so it worried me for a second, untill I realized that the bears suck on offense. Upgrade your D Chicago, but they aren't always going to be able to put points on the board. I still see the Packers sweeping the series this season.