HEADLINES

Marc Trestman

Bears Sign Santonio Holmes

August 19th, 2014 at 9:57am CST by Matt Feminis

TUESDAY, 9:57am: According to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Holmes’ deal is a minimum salary benefit contract, with no guaranteed money.

SATURDAY, 5:29pm: The Bears have officially announced the signing of Holmes, with Eric Weems being cut to make room on the roster for the former Jet (Twitter link).

9:49am: Veteran receiver Santonio Holmes has agreed to sign with the Bears, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter).

Holmes, 30, joins the Bears after four years with the Jets. Though he caught just 23 balls and one touchdown last season, he averaged nearly 20 yards per catch despite missing five games because of a pulled hamstring. Holmes also sat out 12 games in 2012 with a Lisfranc injury.

Holmes worked out for the Bears last week, as they’re in desperate need of a third receiver after Marquess Wilson suffered a broken clavicle. Holmes was one of the biggest “names” remaining on the free-agent scrap heap, but thanks to his age, injuries and character questions, he received just tepid interest as his free agency lingered into mid August.

The Jets were relieved to be rid of Holmes when they cut him in March, at which time the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta wrote, “General manager John Idzik released the underachieving, injury-prone diva wide receiver Monday, capping a strange four-year journey sprinkled with malaprops, meltdowns and “misunderstandings.” In June, Holmes’ agent admitted teams were asking if his client is a “diva.” And recently, reports surfaced that the Browns passed on Holmes because they didn’t think his talent was worth the risk of him disrupting team chemistry.

Nevertheless, injury has opened the door for Holmes in Chicago, where Marc Trestman has shown the ability to get star players with unique personalities or coachability issues to buy in. If Holmes has gas left in the tank, he figures to have a realistic chance of playing a key role as a complimentary piece in a Bears offense loaded with talented skill players.

NFC North Notes: Bears, Joseph, Packers

August 9th, 2014 at 12:55pm CST by Matt Feminis

Jimmy Clausen looked better than Jordan Palmer in the Bears’ first preseason game versus Philadelphia, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Clausen had a 73-yard scoring strike and showed encouraging command for a signal caller who only has two months worth of exposure to a new system. Biggs’ “10 thoughts” on the game is full of information:

  • Suspended tight end Martellus Bennett was not with the team, and head coach Marc Trestman did not have any news about Bennett’s return. Biggs says that while the suspension is “indefinite,” the CBA states a ‘conduct detrimental to the team’ suspension can only last four weeks. Additionally, Bennett can only be fined up to one week’s pay, which would be approximately $282k. “A logical return date would be at training camp Sunday, when the team gets on the field again,” speculates Biggs.
  • Chris Williams, who the Bears plucked off the Saints practice squad, showed legitimate speed in beating the Eagles’ secondary for a 73-yard touchdown, but he suffered a mild hamstring pull and did not get the chance to return kicks, presumably the reason the Bears got him.
  • Second-year right tackle Jordan Mills has been sidelined with a sore left foot (the same foot he had surgery on in January), but X-rays showed no structural damage.
  • For years the Bears’ special teams were the envy of the league under the command of Dave Taub (now in Kansas City), but the unit fell off last year under Joe DeCamillis, and Friday night was inauspicious to say the least, as the Bears had a field goal blocked, yielded a kick return score, were inconsistent punting and were called for multiple penalties.
  • Defensive end Trevor Scott, a darkhorse roster candidate, played well. Shea McClellin and Jon Bostic did not.

Here’s some more NFC North notes:

  • With Bennett suspended, Zach Miller raised eyebrows with six catches for 68 yards and a pair of scores, writes ESPN Chicago’s Jeff Dickerson. Miller’s career was derailed by injuries, but when healthy, he’s a capable receiving tight end. He’s on a one-year, $645k deal with the Bears.
  • In a team-issued release, the Vikings say nose tackle Linval Joseph‘s calf was struck by a bullett during a Minneapolis nightclub shooting last night. The team says Joseph was an innocent bystander, was treated and released from the hospital and will return to the team next week.
  • Former Bear Julius Peppers hasn’t made a splash yet in Packers camp, and ESPN’s Rob Demovsky wonders if the veteran is pacing himself or if there’s just not much left in the tank.
  • Myles White and Kevin Dorsey are the top candidates for the Packers’ fifth receiver job, says Robert Zizzo of the Press-Gazette.

NFC North Notes: Packers, Bears, Vikings

July 19th, 2014 at 10:27am CST by Matt Feminis

The injury-related retirement of Packers running back Jonathan Franklin means there are third-down snaps to be had, writes ESPN Wisconsin’s Jason Wilde in a position preview. If/when Eddie Lacy is off the field, the leading candidates are DuJuan Harris — if he can show improvement in blitz pickup — and “old reliable” fullback John Kuhn.

Here’s a few more NFC North links:

  • The Packers’ run defense fell off significantly last season, and the team made a concerted effort to get younger and more athletic along the defensive line. In fact, 28-year-old B.J. Raji is now the “old man of the line.” In the spotlight, however, is 2013 first-rounder Datone Jones, whom Press-Gazette’s Pete Dougherty calls a “critical player for meaningful improvement.” Jones sustained a sprained ankle in the preseason opener and didn’t get healthy until the end of the season. The team expects Jones to step up his game this season, as he will have significantly more responsibility than his niche role as an inside, sub-package rusher last year.
  • The Bears, who were even worse than the Packers against the run last season, also expect to have a better defensive front in 2014. A healthy Jay Ratliff is one of the reasons why. The veteran defensive tackle is 33, but is 100 percent healthy now, according to ESPN’s Michael C. Wright, who shared a text message he received from a Bears employee: “It helps that we signed Rat. He’s a soldier if healthy!” If that’s the case, it will be a coup for the Bears, who scooped up Ratliff in November for a late-season look-see after he was released by the Cowboys. Encouraged by Ratliff’s health, the Bears retained him on a team-friendly, two-year deal, expecting him to provide disruption from the three-technique.
  • Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times identified the Bears’ 10 most important players, including defensive lineman Lamarr Houston, whom the Bears see as a “star in the making.”
  • Bears head coach Marc Trestman sat down with the Chicago Tribune’s Dan Wiederer for an extensive one-on-one interview in which Trestman touched on a variety of topics, including Jay Cutler, Jared Allen, locker-room culture and leadership, among other things.
  • Vikings fourth-year tight end Kyle Rudolph, who shed 15 pounds this offseason, believes he’s an improved route runner thanks to new offensive coordinator Norv Turner, writes ESPN’s Ben Goessling.