The Bears have released 27-year old running back Kevin Jones.  Jones did not play last season for the Bears due to injury.  He played in 11 games in 2008 with the Bears in which he carried the ball 34 times for 109 yards (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 5 yards (2.5 avg).  The Bears feel good about their running backs with Matt Forte, Chester Taylor and Khalil Bell so they won’t miss Jones.

The Bears have signed 30-year old TE Brandon Manumaleuna to a 5-year deal.  His game is blocking as he is huge at 6′2″, 295 pounds.  Manumaleuna played in all 16 games for the Chargers last season and he caught 5 passes for 13 yards (2.6 ypc).  Manumaleuna has now played in 142 games in his NFL career and he has caught 110 passes for 965 yards (8.8 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  He is a favorite of new Bears’ offensive co-ordinator Mike Martz as Manumaleuna played for him in their time with the Rams.

The Bears have signed 30-year old running back Chester Taylor to a 4-year, $12.5 million dollar deal with $7 million of it guaranteed.  Taylor played in 16 games for the Vikings last season and he carried the ball 94 times for 338 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 44 passes for 389 yards (8.8 avg) with 1 TD grab for the Vikings.  Taylor has now played in 123 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,028 times for 4,396 yards (4.3 ypc) with 22 TD runs.  He has also caught 265 passes for 2,094 yards (7.9 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  I like this signing for a couple of reasons.  First off, Taylor is a good all-around back and he could potentially beat out Matt Forte for the starting job.  I also like the fact that signing Taylor hurts the Vikings as he did a lot of the little things for them that helped them win games.

The Bears have signed 30-year old DE Julius Peppers to a 6-year contract that is front loaded with around $40 million bucks in the first three years.   Peppers played in all 16 games for the Panthers last season and he had 42 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 10.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 5 passed defensed and 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Peppers has now played in 122 games in his NFL career and he has made 382 tackles, defensed 44 passes, he has 81 sacks, 30 forced fumbles and he has 6 interceptions (2 returned for TDs).  This move will improve the Bears’ defense by leaps and bounds as Peppers is relentless rushing the passer.  He is also adept at blocking kicks.  This was a OUTSTANDING move for the Bears as they netted the best free agent available.

The Bears have released OT Orlando Pace and OG Tyler Reed.  The 34-year old Pace starting to look his age last season as he played in 11 games (all starts) for the Bears last year.  The Bears can’t afford to get Jay Cutler beat up again so they will look in a different direction at tackle for 2010.  Tyler Reed has not played in a game in four years with the Bears so it was time to cut him loose.  The Bears are going to be a better team in 2010 without Pace and Reed around.