12:27pm: Larsen’s one-year deal with Chicago can max out at $2.4MM with playing-time bonuses, tweets Caplan.
THURSDAY, 11:51am: The Bears have officially agreed to terms with Larsen on a one-year deal, the team announced today (via Twitter).
WEDNESDAY, 6:52pm: The Bears are expected to sign interior lineman Ted Larsen, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Larsen, 28, came into the league as a sixth-round pick of the Patriots in 2010. He did see the field with New England, but he hooked on with the Buccaneers in that season and went on to see significant playing time over the following four seasons. In 2014, he joined the Cardinals where he started in all 26 of his appearances between ’14 and ’15.
Before signing with Chicago, Larsen drew interest from teams around the league. Both the 49ers and Seahawks met with Larsen and, more recently, he flew to Atlanta for a powwow with the Falcons. While that visit with Atlanta was said to have gone well, Larsen did not sign that day.
The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus (subscription required) were not fond of Larsen’s work last season. Out of 81 qualified guards, Larsen was ranked No. 72 in the NFL for his work last season. PFF’s numbers claim that Larsen did a bad job of run blocking (372 snaps) and an even worse job of pass blocking (478 snaps).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
I like the Manny R. Signing better. Wonder if this guy will make the team.
57 starts in 85 games says he’ll probably be on the team and filling in as needed at Guard or Center, same as Manny Ramirez.
Agreed. The interior of the Bears’ line had some issues, so while Ramirez is more of a clear upgrade than Larsen, adding experienced depth at a contract probably near the veteran minimum is never a bad thing.