Bears Free Agent Releases

I won't mention every scrub that was let go but these are the household names that have left the team this offseason.

Greg Olsen – It sucks to see a guy as good as Olsen leave for only a 3rd rounder but that’s the best Chicago was going to get. Olsen was in the final year of his rookie contract and there’s no way he would have re-signed here to be the blocking TE that Martz wanted (there’s no guarantee that Chicago would even offer him a new contract). Based on what he’s done up to this point in his career, there would have been plenty of options for Olsen as a free agent next season so the Bears traded him for a 3rd rounder this year as opposed to letting him walk for nothing after his contract expired.

Olin Kreutz – This one is kind of a head scratcher not because Kreutz is irreplaceable (a 34 year old on the worst line in the NFL is far from irreplaceable) but because of the shortened off-season. Wouldn’t it have been smarter to keep Kreutz and put the new guy at guard (a position he’s played) in front of Chris Williams? That would have allowed some continuity/improvement on the line this year while having a clear plan moving forward but I guess that’s not how Jerry Angelo rolls. It’s going to be weird not seeing #57 every week and I think he’s still got a little in the tank but people who act like this ends the season are over-reacting a little bit.

Daniel Manning – Manning was always a guy who never had a spot as he seemingly bounced between SS and FS every other year until settling in at FS alongside Chris Harris last season. I think the writing was on the wall when Major Wright was drafted and I’m sure the Texans (whose secondary was fucking atrocious last year) valued Manning much higher then the Bears did. I’ll miss Manning’s return skills but I think Major Wright is a more natural FS and has higher upside at that position then Manning ever did.

Rashied Davis – A good “team guy” who just couldn’t do enough different things to stay on the field. A short receiver who was quicker then he was fast, he was expendable based on the the presence of Hester and Knox on the roster. He’ll be missed on special teams and could definitely be a 3rd or 4th option in Detroit.

Devin Aromashadu – I don’t know what this guy did (or didn’t do) to get himself glued to the bench but I think it was clear he was never on the same page as Mike Martz. Aromashadu provided Cutler with the big target that nobody else on the team could and when he was on the field good things typically happened.I was kind of hoping that everything would click this offseason so we could see what he could do as a starter but I guess that's not in the cards. I’ll be interested to see what he does in Minnesota where he should get a decent shot at playing time.

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