Am I crazy? Absolutely.  But before you totally dismiss this, hear me out.

Cutler likes ‘em big

They say size doesn’t matter.  Yeah right.  Tell that to JC (or your girlfriend).  You could tell about halfway through the 2009 campaign that he was sick to death of throwing to the midget – sorry, little people – wide receivers that constituted the Bears’ roster.  The biggest wide receiver on the Bears last season was Devin Aromashodu, at an unimpressive 6′1″ and a scrawny 201 pounds and you saw what he and Cutler were able to accomplish in just a few games when the Bears braintrust finally wised up and got DA on the field.  T.O. is listed a 6′3″ at a stout 224.  As much as it’s the height, it’s the weight that makes T.O. a valuable asset.  He can take that big body and battle for jump balls.  He can be the go-get-it guy Jay Cutler has lusted after since he arrived.

In Remission

Everyone this side of Mike Ditka has called Owens a locker room cancer.  I’m here to tell you that the cancer is in remission.  Did anyone hear a peep out of T.O. last year?  Maybe it was the fact that he was playing in the news vortex of the universe (Buffalo) but I don’t think so.

The free agent market has been open for business for a while now, yet Owens is still on the market.  That’s enough to humble even the gigantic Terrell Owens ego.

Is Owens fully cured?  Like any cancer, there’s always the chance of a relapse.  Add Owens to Cutler and Martz and you’ve got potential for an explosive situation.

What else ya got?

T.O. would immediately step in and become the Bears best wide receiver.  You can spout off all you want about Knox, Hester or DA, but TO has the numbers to back it up.  In his worst season in 5 years, Owens put up 55 catches for 829 yards and 5 TD’s.  And that was with Trent freakin’ Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick tossing him the rock.

The Bears’ management will tell you they don’t want a veteran wide receiver because they don’t want to stunt the development of their young wide receiving group.  Hmm, doesn’t Julius Peppers stunt Jarron Gilbert or Mark Anderson’s growth?  The fact is, if you have a chance to get a better player, you go get him, youngters be damned.

Without a first or second round draft pick, you’re left to pick over late-rounders.  Could you find another diamond in the rough like Johnny Knox?  Sure.  But even Knox made plenty of rookie mistakes, like not finishing routes and giving up on plays.  The Bears need a veteran to just go out and make plays.

Some might argue that Torry Holt is a better fit, especially with his experience in Mike Martz’s offense.  That may be so, but I don’t think Holt offers the same upside as Owens.  Holt is 6′0″ and weighs in at 200 lbs.  That’s not much different than what we’ve got.

Desperate Times call for Desperate Measures

It should come as no surprise that Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo are on a short leash.  With three straight seasons with no playoffs, the Bears have pulled out all of the stops with some bold free agent moves.  So why not go all-in and take a shot at a desperate and talented, though potentially combustible wide receiver?  With high risk comes high reward.  Go get Terrell Owens.

Terrell Owens celebrates as only he knows how. (Photo courtesy Chicago Sun Times)

Get your popcorn ready and go get T.O.!

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During the Friday presser, GM Jerry Angelo repeatedly thanked Cliff Stein for his hard work in hammering out the blockbuster deal.  After reading Mike Florio’s Pro Football Talk post I’m starting to understand why Jerry was so appreciative of Stein’s efforts:

Peppers gets $20 million in 2010 (all but a $100,000 workout bonus is guaranteed).  But the $22 million in guaranteed money that he’s due to receive in 2011 and 2012 is guaranteed for injury only.

This means that the Bears can decide after the 2010 season to cut Peppers for skill reasons — and they’ll owe him nothing.

Specifically, Peppers’ 2011 base salary of $900,000 is guaranteed for injury at the time it’s signed; on February 10, 2011, it becomes guaranteed for skill. Also, a $10.5 million roster bonus due in 2011 is guaranteed for injury at signing. On February 10, 2011, it becomes guaranteed for skill.

An $8.9 million base salary in 2012 is guaranteed for injury at signing and then for skill as of February 10, 2012

Finally, $1.8 million of Peppers’ 2013 base salary is guaranteed for injury only.

So, basically, if the Bears decide before February 10, 2011 that Peppers isn’t what they thought he’d be, they can treat it as a one-year, $20 million deal, and walk away.

So if you push all the rhetoric aside, the Bears are really on the hook for $20 million.  If Peppers doesn’t perform, the Bears have themselves a Get out of Jail Free card.

Of course, we’re all hoping that Peppers racks up about 15 sacks and leads the Bears back to the playoffs and there is no consideration of using any out clause.

The Bears cut backup running back Kevin Jones today.  No big surprise with the signing of Chester Taylor last week.  Jones’ career with the Bears never really took off.  He joined the Bears in 2008, coming off a knee injury.  He saw a limited role, playing second fiddle to Matt Forte while racking up 109 yards on 34 carries.

Jones looked strong in training camp last year, only to have his season ended with a devastating ankle injury during the last preseason game.

Some insiders thought that Jones’ experience with Mike Martz from their days in Detroit may have given him a shot to compete for the 3rd running back spot, but that will be left for former 3rd round pick Garrett Wolfe and undrafted free agent Kahlil Bell to battle out.

Too bad it didn’t work out here in Chicago.  Best of luck to KJ.

Marconi Hot Giardiniera - not the hottest peppers in Chicago any more.

The Bears got them some hot Peppers on Friday.  No, not Marconi’s hot peppers, but maybe there’s a new spokesman for Chicago’s best giardiniera in the newest Bear, Julius Peppers.

Then again, Peppers doesn’t need the money after inking a 6-year, $92.5 million dollar deal with $42 million guaranteed.  Not a bad little Friday for the prize of the 2010 Free Agent Class.  Here’s what ESPN’s John Clayton said about Peppers’ motivation to come to the Bears: 

The Peppers signing caps off a day of free-spending the likes of which the Chicago Bears have never known.  The Bears also signed running back Chester Taylor and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna.  (Hey, I finally figured out how to spell his name without double checking it in his bio!)

I need to let the signings settle in a bit before I know what to make of them as a whole, but I’ll say this – I never, ever would have expected this.  Today’s events at Halas Hall make the Jay Cutler trade seem trivial.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that Chester Taylor has inked a 4-year deal worth $12.5 million with $7 million in guaranteed money.   Stay tuned for more details.  Welcome aboard Chester!

Here’s what Manu had to say about joining the Bears:

“I played for Mike Martz (in St. Louis) and Lovie Smith was the defensive coordinator. It was a great situation,” Manumaleuna said Friday morning at O’Hare Airport after arriving on a flight from Los Angeles. “This team has a chance to be real successful. It was difficult (to leave San Diego). I had a lot of friends and it was close to home, but the business is what it is.”

While it’s been widely speculated that signing the big blocking tight end might mean Greg Olsen is on his way out, Biggs speculates that the signing could mean the end for veteran Dez Clark.  I hope that doesn’t happen, since Dez is a class guy and a true professional – we here at BGO know firsthand.

A better move would be to move Olsen while his perceived value is higher.  The Bears won’t get much for him if his role and production drop off in Martz’s system, as is widely believed to be true.

In any case, the Bears are in the free agency mix and it figures to be a busy day at Halas Hall.

No team was allowed to have contact with Peppers until the free-agent period officially began at 11:01 p.m., but Peppers had a strong interest in joining Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, and Tommie Harris on the Bears’ defense. The Bears were the first team to call Carey and extended a “substantial offer” that was good enough to get Peppers on the plane.

Meanwhile, the Sun Times’ Sean Jensen is reporting that Chester Taylor is scheduled for a Friday trip to Lake Forest.

Taylor would seem an ideal fit to complement Matt Forte in Mike Martz’s offense, which highlights the running back position.

Taylor is one of the most coveted offensive unrestricted free agents. Although he will turn 31 in September, Taylor has minimal mileage.

UPDATED: March 4, 11:55 PM

Add Tight End Brandon Manumaleuna to the mix.

The Bears are dropping out of the Antrel Rolle sweepstakes.  With Julius Peppers and Chester Taylor set to visit Halas Hall on Friday, I guess their dance card is full.

Updated March 4, 10:45 PM Central

It’s being reported that Antrel Rolle is set to visit the NY Giants on Friday.  I’m pretty sure it’s not to show them his new Bears jersey.  Lots of rumors swirling around, so stay tuned.

Word out of Halas Hall is that the Bears are currently negotiating with Antrel Rolle.   You might be asking yourself, the free agency period hasn’t opened yet, how can they be doing that?  That is true, but because Rolle’s contract was terminated by the Cardinals, he gets a jump start on Free Agency.

I am guessing that the Bears are trying to hammer this deal out to see if they have any of their allowance left from Auntie Ginny to go get some them some Peppers when the stores open at midnight.

Rolle is looking forward to being courted by many teams after getting his walking papers from the Cards.  After reading his blog, you get the idea that he didn’t really get the rules and wasn’t expecting this early action.  Hey Antrel, the quicker that deal is worked out, the quicker you get that new paper.  Don’t spend it all in one place.

The Bears like Peppers. He likes them too.

The Bears like Julius Peppers and he likes them back.  It’s the equivalent of an awkward  junior high boy passing a note to the popular girl that he likes and her passing one back saying “I like you too.”    OK, put your first stiffy away.

I’ve heard and read a lot about the Bears having an interest in Peppers.  So far, I’ve taken it all with a grain of salt, thinking that the Bears were just getting their name out there in the mix to appease fans by being ‘active’ in the free agent market.

Yesterday I read that the Bears supposedly met with Peppers’ people during the scouting combine and thought two things: 

1. Wow, maybe the Bears are serious about this Peppers thing.

2. Isn’t it considered tampering to talk to agents before free agency officially begins?

I guess I am not the only one to think that.  You might recall the Bears accused the 49ers of tampering with Lance Briggs a couple of years back and actually got some draft compensation.

Great, so with an already weakened draft without the a first or second round pick in a tremendously deep draft, the Bears might be at risk for giving up one of their precious few selections over a chat with Peppers’ agent.

As I understand, normally a lot of this tampering goes on at the NFL Combine, but because agents who are there have multiple clients.  Here’s the problem – Carl Carey has but one client – Julius Peppers.

And that client will become a very rich client if reports are correct.  Rich like $40 million up front plus another $15+ every year.  That’s more than a million bucks per sack if he can keep up his 10+ annually.  Is the Bears defense better with Peppers?  Hell yes!  Is Peppers better than Adewale Ogunleye and Gaines Adams (rest in peace) put together?  Yup.  Is he worth that kind of coin?

When you’re on a budget – and we know the Misers of the Midway always are – it’s best to do a little research before going on a shopping spree to be sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck.

Last season the second biggest disappointment for the Bears, besides Jay Cutler and his knack for throwing the ball to the other team, had to be Matt Forte.  You can blame the O-line or playing with a bum wheel, but the fact is that the Bears had no one to spell and/or compliment Forte.

Let’s assess the expected crop of Free Agent Running  Backs the Bears might consider to bolster their backfield:

Darren Sproles

This little waterbug is likely to be a hot commodity on the free agent market.  His diminutive stature (5′6″ and 185 lbs) makes it a stretch to think that he could be a primary back, so that might cost him a few bucks, but heading into an uncapped year, that will hardly make a difference.

Sproles i’s quicker than a hiccup and sometimes tougher to stop.  Mike Martz has wet dreams about this type of running back.  Can you imagine the screen plays he could run with him?  Would be the perfect compliment to Forte in the backfield and I can hardly imagine what Dave Toub could do with his unique talents on special teams?  

Chester Taylor

Taylor is another great complimentary back that could have a field day in a Mike Martz offense.  CT has been playing Robin to Adrian Peterson’s Batman for the last few years in Minnesota.   At 30, he’s hitting an age where you might normally get concerned about a running back, but since he’s served primarily as a backup the last few years, he’s got plenty of spring left in his step.  Another big advantage of signing Taylor is that you weaken the division rival Vikings.

Thomas Jones

Thomas Jones is probably the most under-appreciated back in the league.  First the Bears draft Cedric Benson when they already had a productive Jones in the fold.  Jones, with little help from Benson, leads the Bears to the Super Bowl.  Then the Bears dump him to hand the job to Benson to move up 20-odd spots in the second round of the draft.  Now the Jets are parting company with Jones after three seasons where all he did was tally nearly 4000 rushing yards and score 28 TD’s.  Are you kidding me?

I LOVE Jones, but I’m not sure he’s the ideal fit to go along with Forte in a Mike Martz system.  He’s not exactly known as a big pass-catching threat and doesn’t bring a different dimension compared to the incumbent Forte.  That said, bring back TJ for the right price and the rest will work itself out.

LaDainian Tomlinson

I’m hopeful the Bears learned their lesson about getting a future Hall of Famer too late in his career from the Orlando Pace experiment.  I hate to say it, but I think that’s the case with LT.  The dude is a legend and for a stretch a few years ago he was on another planet.  I’m afraid the Bears would be getting Shaun Alexander circa Washington Redskins late run and not the MVP from previous years.  I’ve already given my stance on LT, but with that said, for the right price and something to prove in a Mike Martz offense, you never know.

Brian Westbrook

Westbrook has been one of those guys that I always avoided in my fantasy football world because it seems like he’s injured every season.  When he’s healthy and on, he’s on.  Another great pass-catching option out of the backfield, you just can’t count on him.  Most recently on top of his various bodily ailments he’s suffered a couple of concussions.  With the sall that we’ve learned with regard to brain injuries, you’ve got to wonder if Westbrook would be better served hanging up the cleats.

So, what do you think Bears fans?