Briggs says he'll demand a trade....

[Chewie]

....if he doesn't get a new deal by season's end.

Bears are way under the cap and have ZERO depth but Briggs still has 3 years left on his current contract. Could definitely be a distraction.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0828-briggs-bears-titans-chicago--20110828,0,327233.story

and

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-0828-bears-haugh-chicago--20110828,0,6613158.column

[BIGGIEsmalls 23]

Here we go again. Briggs could have at least waited until next off season to start Bit*****.

[emperorjones]

He just got a new deal 2 years ago right???

[BIGGIEsmalls 23]

He just got a new deal 2 years ago right???

He was a free agent in the summer of 2007. They placed the franchise tag on him. On March 1, 2008, the Bears re-signed Briggs to a six-year, $36 million contract.

[kyrv]

I'll be honest I thought this was a necro'd thread, I thought, no way this guy could actually be talking about a new deal NOW.

Wow.

[1Point7Percent]

idiot.....

[WEFFPIM]

Really, Lance? Really?

[heir_jordan22]

Underpaid, yes. Deserves a new contract, sure why not.... But terrible timing.

[kyrv]

I don't know. The NFL may want to think about making it illegal to redo contracts like the NBA did, and only allow extensions at certain times.

This guy is a piece of work.

To be honest, I think the rookie scaling is going to have the side effect of a lot of future holdouts, because the best players will be underpaid for several years. But if you are on a veteran deal that you held out to get - good grief. Man up.

Lance, what is the value of your signature? A quarter?

[WEFFPIM]

Underpaid, yes. Deserves a new contract, sure why not.... But terrible timing.

Don't agree with this at all. His current deal, which he signed, was heavily front-loaded. He was paid what he was worth, he just pushed it all to the front of the deal. Now with a week to go in a preseason that he's been injured much of, he wants a new deal.

Someone get this man a calendar.

[BIGGIEsmalls 23]

Mike Ditka said the Chicago Bears would be foolish to give Lance Briggs a raise with three years left on his contract.................

.........While Bears general manager Jerry Angelo refused to comment on the situation, Ditka -- a former Super Bowl champion coach for the Bears -- was candid.

"You can't do it," Ditka said on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" Monday on ESPN 1000. "I mean you just can't do it. The Bears aren't going to do it. Anybody in their right mind wouldn't do it. If you do it, you're a fool."

Ditka said it would set a bad precedent for the Bears to give in to Briggs.

"To me, somewhere you have to draw a line in the sand," Ditka said. "That's my feeling. If every player who comes in and says they want a raise, you're going to give him a raise? You're going to run out of money.

"When you sign a contract, you have an obligation. It says, 'OK, we're going to pay you this much, you're going to sign the contract.' Now all of a sudden you play for a while the contract is no good anymore? Stop it. When the contract is over, then you go in and ask for a raise."

[Nolan]

Really, Lance? Really?

[BIGGIEsmalls 23]

My bad. Here's the link for the Ditka quote above:

http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/ ... iggs-raise

[BR0D1E86]

Underpaid, yes. Deserves a new contract, sure why not.... But terrible timing.

He's not underpaid. He was an unrestricted free agent 3 years ago and found out exactly how much a non-pass rushing system WLB is worth. It was worth what the Bears gave him.

His cap number is low now because the Bears frontloaded the hell out of it.

In short, Lance can screw off*.




*I say this knowing that it's a business, and contract issues like this generally don't bother me. But after the last time around Lance has used all of the rope he's going to get.

[Chewie]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-spt-0902-lance-briggs-chicago-bears,0,1976638.story

So much for waiting until after the season until waiting for that trade demand. Oh, how I wish we didn't actually need him.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus has filed a formal request to seek a trade on behalf of Lance Briggs, the Bears linebacker told the Tribune.

"The Bears made their decision, now I have to make mine," Briggs said. "It's just how the business works. It's not going to take away from what I do on the field. I'm 100 percent a Bear, until I'm not a Bear anymore."

General manager Jerry Angelo declined to discuss Briggs' request when first approached about the matter Saturday. Briggs was willing to wait until after the season before seeking a trade but changed his mind after meeting with Angelo on Sunday.

[The Explorer]

Trade Briggs to the Bengals and let him deal with Mike Brown.

[Friend_Of_Haley]

Does that mean he is going to still suit up? As long as he is willing to suit up and play he has zero leverage.

[Nolan]

Does that mean he is going to still suit up? As long as he is willing to suit up and play he has zero leverage.

^
This. If he's playing then I really don't care.

[emperorjones]

I'd be all for trading him at the end of the season. There are going to be some solid LBs available in FA next season and the team has done an excellent job managing the cap. If we could get a solid 2nd round pick or a low 1st for him I'd be happy. 2012 has to be the year we focus on our LBs and improving the CBs.

[transplant]

My thoughts:

http://nossemsports.blogspot.com/