You were signed for the Raiders for $1.75 million?  If you crash at my place that should save you some dough, and I can throw together a pot of mac and cheese once in a while, so that should bring it down to about $1.5 million right?  Considering you’ve rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season that’s a huge upgrade from the running back situation we have in Chicago right now.  The best part is you’ll only have to share carries with Benson until he gets injured, which will probably happen in training camp when he ties his shoelaces too tight and ruptures a tendon.

Wouldn’t it be great to be the starting Bears running back?  Look what it did to Thomas Jones‘ career and scored him a huge contract in New York.  We just drafted a huge tackle to solidify our line and give you good running lanes.  Lord knows we can’t throw the ball, just look at our quarterback and wide receiver situation.  You could totally become a fantasy stud and be loved by middle-aged men bored at work across the world.

I hear you had to sit out 4 games last season due to abusing the NFL substance abuse policy, let’s not make that a habit.  You can drink anything that’s in the fridge, I pretty much only buy water, juice, and coke so that should keep you out of trouble.  Don’t get any funny ideas about the coke, I mean the polar bear kind, not the flying unicorn kind.  Plus you’d be making the jump from the highly competitive AFC to the wide open pastures of the NFC where anything is possible.  Any team with determination and a complete ignorance of their glaring weakness can reach the Super Bowl.  Refer to the NFC representative in the Super Bowl for about the last 5 years for an example.  Sometimes they actually win the game too!

So come on over to Chicago, I’ll make the guest bed and wash the sheets first cause your VIP like that.  You’ll be named the starting running back after about the time you get done running out on to the field for the first practice and show us what a 1,000 yard rushing season looks like up close.  I’ll start making some mac and cheese.

The significance of 5 spots could be huge for a Bears team that will likely look to the third round to draft a running back, wide receiver, or quarterback. In almost every draft there is a player who unexpectedly drops to the second round. If a potential first round quarterback or running back is available in the second round, the Bears have the luxury to grab him knowing they have high picks in the third round to fill other need positions.

The NFL still has to decide want round to award a draft pick the Bears for losing Bernard Berrian. The league makes decisions on later round draft picks based upon the size of contracts signed by leaving free agents with other teams. The size of the contract Berrian signed with the Minnesota Vikings could potentially reward the Bears with at least an additional 5th round pick and could potentially be a 4th or even 3rd round pick depending on how the NFL weighs the move.

This comes on the heels of reports the Bears are holding private luncheons with Arkansas running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. McFadden is a top draft pick and Jones will likely be available much later in the draft. If the NFL awards additional draft picks to the Bears they may try to package several picks together to trade up and grab McFadden or trade down and count on getting Jones. Either way it presents an interesting move for Halas Hall to find an immediate fix at running back and could possibly signal that Cedric Benson has suddenly given the Bears reason to believe he is not ready to be the starting running back. Benson has spent a lot of time on the injured list and his rehabilitation from his latest injury may be giving the Bears concerns.

I still believe the Bears feel offensive tackle is a top priority, but with a deep talent pool at tackle they may be willing to either trade up and grab a huge talent at running back or trade down to grab a quality lineman and running back. The next few weeks could prove crucial for the franchise.