Earl Bennett and his orange shoes will be around for a few more years as the Bears have signed him to a 4-year contract extension. Earl announced the news on his Twitter account:
"God is awesome! I am proud to say that I will be a Chicago Bear for 4 more years! #DaBears"
Update: According to the Sun Times, the 4-year deal is worth $18 million with $9 million in guaranteed money.
It’s good move for the Bears to get some continuity in the receiving corp and keep Jay Cutler’s favorite target around. You can tell how much the offense improved when Bennett returned after being sidelined for several weeks with a chest injury.
Bennett is a third round pick out of Vanderbilt and has emerged as the most capable of the Bears wide receivers. In his 4 years he has 118 catches for 1554 yards and 6 touchdowns. He had a nice season in his second year and took a bit of a step back in the first year of Mike Martz’s system, but his rapport with Cutler has clearly helped him become Jay’s go to guy, especially on third downs.
My only hope is that this move and the money they have tied up in Devin Hester doesn’t keep the Bears from trying to get another big target at wide receiver not named Roy Williams. I think Bennett is a nice #2 complimentary receiver and I look forward to him coming across the middle to convert big third downs for years to come.