The Bears have signed 22-year FB/TE Eddie Williams to a 1-year deal.  Williams spent most of his rookie year on the practice squad before breaking his ankle which ended his season.  Williams was a 7th round pick out of Idaho April by the Redskins.  Williams is 6′1″, 249 and he has good receiving and blocking skills.  It never hurts to add a player like Williams who has potential to help them on offense and special teams in 2010.

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.

35-year old punter Brad Maynard may miss this week’s game for the Bears.  He has played in 15 games for the Bears this season and he has punted the ball 72 times for 3,017 yards (41.9 avg).  Maynard has only 2 touchbacks (2.8%) this season and he has pinned the opposing team inside their own 20-yard line 25 times (34.7%) this year.  The Bears have signed 26-year old Richmond McGee who could make his NFL debut against the Lions this week as the punter.  If the Bears were playing any other team but the Lions this might be a huge issue but the Bears might not need the punter much in this game due to the Lions’ horrific defense.