The Bears have signed 29-year old offensive tackle Kevin Shaffer to a 3-year deal.  Shaffer played in 15 games (all starts) for the Browns last season.  The 6’5″, 315 pound Shaffer has now played in 100 games (86 starts) in his 7-year NFL career.  Run blocking is his forte so he should fit right in on the Bears in 2009 and beyond.

The Bears have signed 27-year old safety Glenn Earl to a 1-year deal.  Earl last played during the 2006 NFL season for the Houston Texans.  He has played in 37 games in his NFL career in which he has made 154 tackles, defensed 9 passes, has 2 sacks, forced 1 fumble and he has intercepted 3 passes.  If healthy Earl could really help the Bears in 2009 and it was worth the risk to sign him.

The Bears have signed safety Josh Bullocks to a 1-year contract.  Bullocks played in all 16 games for the Saints last season and he made 41 tackles, defensed 6 passes, forced 1 fumble and he intercepted 1 pass.  Bullocks has now played in 62 games in his NFL career and he has made 257 tackles, defensed 27 passes, has 1 sack, has forced 4 fumbles and he has picked off 6 passes.  This was a good depth signing for the Bears.

The Bears took twelve players in last April’s draft but only one is a for sure keeper and that is 2nd round pick Matt Forte.  Forte played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bears last season and he carried the ball 316 times for 1,238 yards (3.9 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also caught 63 passes for 477 yards (7.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Forte got off to a fast start last season before defenses caught up with him and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts back to them.  He also made 3 tackles in a very busy rookie season.  1st round pick Chris Williams (OT) has the look of a bust.  He played in 9 games (0 starts) as a rookie and he will have to improve big time to earn a starting job in the near future.  WR Earl Bennett was also a mis-fire for the Bears in 2008.  He played in 10 games (0 starts) last season and he didn’t catch any passes.  He returned 1 punt for 17 yards and he made 2 tackles.  Fellow 3rd rounder (DT) Marcus Harrison was a decent backup last season and he could start in the near future for the Bears.  He played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Bears last season and he made 28 tackles and defensed 2 passes.  Safety Craig Steltz was taken in the 4th round by the Bears last season and he played in 11 games (0 starts) and made 18 tackles, defensed 1 pass and he also intercepted 1 pass.  He is a solid special teams player but he will need to improve his playing speed if he wants to earn more time on defense.  5th rounder Zackary Bowman only played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Bears last season and he made 2 tackles, defensed 1 pass and had a interception.  But he was injured in his only game tearing his biceps and missing the rest of the season.  TE Kellen Davis was another bust for the Bears as he played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Bears in 2008 and he didn’t catch any passes.  He returned 1 kickoff for 13 yards and he made 4 tackles.  The Bears had 5 picks in the 7th round and only outside linebacker Joey LaRocque made a small splash.  He played in 14 games (0 starts) and made a whopping 6 tackles.  DE Ervin Baldwin didn’t make it to the playing field for the Bears last season while OT Kirk Barton played in only 1 game (0 starts).  OG Chester Adams and WR Marcus Monk were both cut last August.

GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-