The Bears are sending five players to the Pro Bowl this year.  31-year old LB Lance Briggs had earned this honor as he has played outstanding ball this year.  Briggs has played in 15 games for the Bears so far this year and he has 100 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 4 passes defensed and 1 interception.  33-year old fellow LB Brian Urlacher is making another trip to the Pro Bowl.  He has played in 15 games for the Bears so far this year and he has 92 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 fumble recoveries, 7 passes defensed and 3 interceptions.  30-year old CB Charles Tillman has turned in a really solid season for the Bears.  He has played in 15 games for the Bears so far this year and he has 93 tackles, 11 passes defensed, 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 1 sack, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 tackles for a loss.  26-year old CB Corey Graham was selected to the Pro Bowl as a special teams player.  He has played in 15 games for the Bears so far this year and he has 13 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 3 passes defensed and 3 interceptions.  26-year old RB Matt Forte won’t play in the Pro Bowl, but he has been elected to it.  Forte played in 12 games for the Bears this year and he carried the ball 203 times for 997 yards (4.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 52 passes for 490 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.

The Bears are likely going to pull the plug on 26-year old Caleb Hanie.  Hanie has played in 6 games for the Bears this year and he has completed 51 of 102 passes (50%) for 613 yards with 3 TD passes and 9 INTs (41.8 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 13 times for 98 yards (7.5 ypc) so far this year.  The Bears have decided that they have seen more than enough of Hanie to know that he is not NFL starting QB material.  Enter 32-year old Josh McCown.  He has played in 1 game for the Bears this year and he completed 1 of 2 passes (50%) for 12 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (29.2 QB Rating).  McCown has not started in a NFL game at QB since the 2007 season with the Oakland Raiders.  McCown has played in 48 games in his NFL career and he has completed 611 of 1,060 passes (57.6%) for 6,596 yards with 35 TD passes and 41 INTs (70.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 127 times for 569 yards (4.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  McCown is going to be an upgrade over Hanie….but that’s not saying much.

The Bears have signed 24-year old WR Max Komar from the practice squad.  Komar played in 8 games as a rookie for the Cardinals last year and he caught 12 passes for 117 yards (9.8 avg).  He also returned 5 punts for 31 yards (6.2 avg) last season.  Komar will likely be the Bears’ #5 WR, so don’t expect him to put big numbers up the next couple of weeks….especially with the Bears’ current situation at QB.

25-year old WR Johnny Knox is done for the year for the Chicago Bears.  He will undergo surgery today to stabilize a vertebra in his back.  He will have a 3-4 month recovery period if his surgery today is successful.  Knox played in 13 games for the Bears this year and he caught 36 passes for 712 yards (19.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also returned 14 kickoffs for 374 yards (26.7 avg) this year for the Bears.  Knox has now played in 44 games in his first three years with the Bears and he has caught 132 passes for 2,199 yards (16.7 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  He has also returned 54 kickoffs for 1,483 yards (27.5 avg) with 1 TD return for the Bears.  The Bears are going to miss Knox as he was the one receiver that they could really count on.

The Bears have waived 26-year old WR Sam Hurd.  This decision was really easy for the Bears after Hurd was arrested earlier this week for trying to buy a huge amount of drugs off an undercover cop.  Hurd is considered a drug dealer by the police and he supposedly sold the drugs he was getting to dozens of NFL players.  Hurd played in 12 games for the Bears this year and he caught 8 passes for 109 yards (13.6 avg).  He also returned 1 kickoff for 24 yards and he had 5 tackles as he played on a lot of the Bears’ special teams units.  Hurd has now played in 74 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has caught 53 passes for 739 yards (13.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also has 67 tackles, 3 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries.  This is likely the end of Hurd’s NFL career as he is facing a sentence of up to 40 years, if convicted.

The Bears have lost 25-year old RB Matt Forte for the next 2-4 weeks due to a Grade 2 MCL sprain.  Forte has played in 12 games for the Bears this year and he has carried the ball 203 times for 997 yards (4.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 52 passes for 490 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab for the Bears this year.  The Bears won’t likely be able to replace all of the 123.9 yards from scrimmage that Forte is averaging so far this season.  28-year old Marion Barber will be the main RB for the Bears until Forte is ready to return to action.  Barber has played in 9 games for the Bears so far this year and he has carried the ball 76 times for 281 yards (3.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He has also caught 3 passes for 18 yards (6.0 avg) so far for the Bears this year.  Barber is a power runner, so the offense will likely have to be streamlined a little bit with him as the main man.  24-year old Kahlil Bell will replace Barber as the backup RB until Forte is ready to return to action.  Bell has played in 9 games for the Bears so far this year and he has carried the ball 15 times for 57 yards (3.8 ypc).  He has also caught 1 pass for 4 yards so far this year.  Losing Forte is almost as big of a blow as losing Jay Cutler.  The difference is that Marion Barber and Kahlil Bell are legit NFL RBs, while Caleb Hanie is not much of a QB.

UPDATE:  (12/27/2011) – The Bears have officially put Matt Forte on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season.

The Bears have signed 32-year old long snapper Chris Massey.  Massey played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Rams last year.  He has now played in 135 games (1 start) in his first 9 years in the NFL.  Massey has a lot of experience snapping the ball so the Bears are likely in good shape on special teams heading into this weekend’s game against the Raiders in Oakland.

The Bears have signed 32-year old QB Josh McCown.  McCown last played in a regular season game back in 2009 with the Carolina Panthers.  McCown has played in 49 games (31 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 610 of 1,058 passes (57.7%) for 6,584 yards with 35 TD passes and 40 INTs (71.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 127 times for 569 yards (4.5 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his career.  McCown is 12-19 (38.7%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  McCown will start out as the #3 QB for the Bears behind Caleb Hanie and Nathan Enderle….but he could move up the depth chart quickly.

The Chicago Bears have lost 36-year old long snapper Patrick Mannelly for the rest of the season due to a torn left ACL.  Mannelly played in all 10 games for the Bears this year.  He has played in 215 games in his first 14 years with the Bears.  27-year old fullback Tyler Clutts will get the first shot to replace Mannelly this weekend against the Raiders in Oakland.  Clutts has played in 10 games for the Bears so far this year and he has caught 7 passes for 46 yards (6.6 avg) and has 2 tackles.

UPDATE:  (11/23/2011) – The Bears have signed rookie 23-year old Jake Laptad to a 3-year deal to replace Patrick Mannelly.

UPDATE II:  (11/24/2011) – The Bears have released long snapper Jake Laptad.  That shows just ho much contracts are worth in the NFL.

The Bears will be without 28-year old QB Jay Cutler for the next 6-8 weeks due to a fractured thumb that requires surgery.  Cutler has played in 10 games for the Bears this year and he has completed 182 of 314 passes (58%) for 2,319 yards with 13 TD passes and 7 INTs (85.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 18 times for 56 yards (3.1 ypc) so far this year.  This is a HUGE loss for the Chicago Bears!  They will turn to 26-year old Caleb Hanie at QB and he will be making his first start of his NFL career next weekend against the Raiders in Oakland.  Hanie hasn’t played at all so far this year for the Bears.  He has played in 4 games in his NFL career and he has completed 8 of 14 passes (57.1%) for 66 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (39.6 QB Rating).  Hanie has also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard (-1.0 ypc) so far this year.  The Bears will be looking to run more with Hanie at QB.

UPDATE:  (11/27/2011) – The Bears have officially placed Jay Cutler on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season.