1. Brian Urlacher “Retires”
Dec 2, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher (54) during the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
When a legend and future Hall of Famer retires, it’s a big story. We wondered how this would play out heading into the offseason and it wasn’t good, particularly from a PR perspective. Ulracher is as beloved as any Chicago Bears player since the ’85 Bears. He entered the 2012 season with a bum wheel and he never seemed to get his legs under him. It became really clear in what would be his final game with the Bears that he had permanently lost a step.
This was going to be a big question going into the 2013 offseason and it turned ugly as the Bears appeared to lowball Urlacher in the contract talks. I say appeared to lowball because there were no other offers. In that sense, the Bears offered Urlacher more than any other team was willing to pay. Urlacher decided that he was insulted by the Bears offer and would not return to the team. When his phone didn’t ring with any meaningful offers, he decided to “retire,” which is a nice way of saying he was forced out of the game he loved.
Could Urlacher have made a difference for the 2013 Bears defense? Let’s put it this way, I don’t think they could have been much worse with him, but that’s not saying much. They certainly missed his leadership, but physically, I don’t think he would have contributed much more than a healthy DJ Williams or James Anderson did.
The legendary Urlacher retired as a member of the Bears, just what he wanted.
Whew…
What do you think Bears fans? Did I miss any of the top stories? Would you have ranked them differently? What are the key stories that you’ll be interested to follow in 2014? Let’s hear your Comments below.
Happy New Year and of course…