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 signed 28-year old DE Chauncey Davis.  Davis played in all 16 games for the Falcons last year and he had 24 tackles, 1 sack, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception…which he returned for a TD.  Davis has now played in 96 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 178 tackles, 10 sacks, 20 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 8 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD) and 6 passes defensed.  Davis will likely be the Bears’ #3 DE moving forward.

The Bears have signed 27-year old safety Brandon Meriweather to a 1-year deal.  Meriweather played in 16 games for the Patriots last year and he had 68 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, he recovered 1 fumble, defensed 6 passes and he had 3 interceptions.  He has now played in 64 games in his first 4 years in the NFL and he has 261 tackles, 12 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), defensed 27 passes, has 9 tackles for a loss, 5 forced fumbles, recovered 1 fumble and he has 2 sacks.  This is an outstanding signing for the Bears as players that have made it to two Pro Bowls in their first four years in the NFL rarely become available on cutdown day.

The Bears have signed 29-year old center Chris Spencer to a 2-year deal.  Spencer played in 16 games (all starts) for the Seahawks last year.  He has played in 80 games (70 starts) in his first six years in the NFL.  Spencer will be the Bears’ new starting center as Olin Kreutz’ long career with the Bears appears over now.

The Bears have signed 25-year old DE Vernon Gholston.  Gholston played in 16 games for the Jets last year and he had 12 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  Gholston has played in 45 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 42 tackles and 3 tackles for a loss.  Gholston has been a huge bust so far in his career but I don’t blame the Bears for taking a flier on him.  They can just cut him if he doesn’t look too good in training camp.

UPDATE:  (8/29/2011) – The Bears have cut Vernon Gholston.

The Bears have signed 28-year old RB Marion Barber to a 2-year deal.  Barber played in 13 games (10 starts) for the Cowboys last year and he carried the ball 113 times for 374 yards (3.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 11 passes for 49 yards (4.5 avg) last year.  Barber has now played in 88 games (41 starts) in his first six years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,042 times for 4,358 yards (4.2 ypc) with 47 TD runs.  He also has caught 174 passes for 1,280 yards (7.4 avg) with 6 TD grabs in his NFL career.  Barber will bring a hard nosed power running game to the Bears when he’s on the field.  Look for Barber’s presence to lessen the burden for Matt Forte carrying the full load in the running game in 2011.

The Bears have signed 24-year old DT Amobi Okoye.  Okoye played in 16 games for the Texans last season and he had 44 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks and 1 fumble recovery.  He has played in 62 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 138 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, 11 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 5 passes defensed.  The Bears hope that Okoye benefits from a change of scenery and I think it was a nice low risk/high reward gamble.

The Bears have signed 26-year old WR Sam Hurd.  Hurd played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Cowboys last year and he had 14 catchers for 120 yards (8.6 avg).  He has now played in 65 games (5 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has caught 45 passes for 630 yards (14.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Hurd could be a nice late bloomer as he was buried on the depth chart in Dallas.

The Bears have signed 29-year old WR Roy Williams.  Williams played in 15 games (9 starts) for the Cowboys last year and he caught 37 passes for 530 yards (14.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He has now played in 100 games (85 starts) in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has caught 356 passes for 5,208 yards (14.6 avg) with 42 TD grabs.  Williams made it to the Pro Bowl one time in his NFL career  (2006 with the Lions) and Mike Martz was the offensive co-ordinator in Detroit that year.  This signing seems like a perfect fit for me as Williams might ascend back to being a true #1 WR with the Bears.