Bears Bolstering Talent To Team This OffSeason

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Christian Gralak, Online Editor

It was a disappointing season for head coach John Fox and the Chicago Bears in their first season together.  However, the Bears hope that will all change this year and are making moves in the offseason to ramp up their chances of post-season contention.

Failing to make the playoffs again has shown how important it is for the Bears to improve on their overall talent.

The Bears signed former Denver Broncos inside linebacker Danny Trevathan to a four-year deal and former Indianapolis Colts inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman to a three-year deal.

Trevathan is one of the bigger signings for the Bears. Coming off a Super Bowl win with the Broncos, he had a combined 109 tackles, six pass defenses and two interceptions with one being returned for a touchdown.

Trevathan played under Fox for three seasons in Denver. Fox also helped the Broncos draft him in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft.

Freeman is a 6-foot-tall, 240-pound defensive monster. His knowledge of defense and aggressive playing style will be un upgrade over former Bears linebacker Shea McClellin.

The Bears and McClellin parted ways after four seasons due to his ineffectiveness on defense.

Freeman started 57 games and recorded 478 tackles in four seasons with the Colts.

The Bears also re-signed cornerback Tracy Porter to a three-year deal. He was Chicago’s best cornerback last year with a team high 22 pass breakups, according to Larry Mayer of  ChicagoBears.com.

His most notable play came during last year’s Thanksgiving when he intercepted Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the fourth quarter, which sealed a Bears win.

Another important hole the Bears filled was finding a player to play right tackle.

To fill this hole, the Bears signed former Arizona Cardinals right tackle Bobby Massie to a three-year deal.

Massie, a Cardinals’ fourth-round pick in 2012, comes in at 6-foot-6 and weighs 316 pounds. All of his 46 starts have been at right tackle.

The signing allows Kyle Long to move back to his natural position at right guard, where he made the Pro Bowl in his first two NFL seasons.

According to ChicagoBears.com, Long played a pivotal role in recruiting Massi to the Bears due to their previous high school relationship.

“He is big ol’ strong, country, mean–he’s everything you want in an offensive lineman… I couldn’t be happier with the news,” Long told the Chicago Tribune.

The Bears’ moves should help the organization improve for the future and give John Fox the ammunition he needs to fire them back into playoff contention.

In Fox’s second year as head coach with Carolina, he took them to the Super Bowl. Bears fans hope he can achieve the same goal in his second season with Chicago.

Some other notable Bears signings include: OLB Sam Acho, OL Manny Ramirez, CB Sherrick McManis, TE Zach Miller, TE Rob Housler, S Chris Prosinski, DL Akiem Hicks, RB Jacquizz Rodgers, OT Nick Becton, WR Marc Mariani, WR Deonte Thompson and LS Aaron Brewer.