The Bears have signed 27-year old TE Matt Spaeth.  Spaeth played in 14 games for the Steelers last year and he caught 9 passes for 80 yards (8.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 60 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 36 passes for 275 yards (7.6 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Spaeth’s game is run blocking and catching jump balls in the end zone as he is 6’7″.  He will replace Brandon Manumaleuna (he has been released).

The Bears have signed 27-year old punter Adam Podlesh to a 5-year deal.  Podlesh played in all 16 games for the Jaguars last year and he punted the ball 57 times for 2,496 yards (43.8 avg).  He only had 7 touchbacks (12.3%) and he pinned the opposing team inside their own 20-yard line 26 times (45.6%) which is outstanding!  Podlesh has now played in 59 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has punted the ball 229 times for 9,751 yards (42.6 avg).  He has also pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 75 times (32.8%) and he has 19 touchbacks (8.3%) in his career.  Podlesh could be the Bears’ secret weapon when the winds start swirling at Soldier Field.

The Bears have signed 32-year old DE Charles Grant.  Grant played in all 16 games for the Saints last season and he had 44 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 5.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.  Grant has now played in 118 games in his NFL career and he has 424 tackles, 31 passes defensed, 47 sacks, 16 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  The Bears obviously signed Grant with the idea of starting him soon and he could help them as he still had a lot left in the gas tank for the Saints last year.

UPDATE:  (10/19/2010) – The Bears have released Charles Grant.  He came to the Bears out of shape so they didn’t have any confidence that he could help them any time soon.

The Bears have signed 38-year old QB Todd Collins.  Collins played in 3 games for the Redskins last season and he completed 12 of 23 passes (52.2%) for 144 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs (71.6 QB Rating).  He also had 1 carry for 0 yards.  Collins has now played in 49 games (20 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 381 of 674 passes (56.5%) for 4,479 yards with 22 TD passes and 19 INTs (76.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 83 times for 152 yards (1.8 ypc) in his career.  Collins has a 10-10 record as a starting QB in the NFL.  Collins instantly becomes the Bears’ #2 QB behind Jay Cutler, bumping Caleb Hanie to #3.

The Bears have signed 26-year old QB Matt Gutierrez.  Gutierrez played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Chiefs last season and he completed his only pass attempt for 3 yards.  He has now played in 6 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 2 of 2 passes for 18 yards (104.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 5 times for -13 yards (-2.6 ypc) but most of those, if not all of them, were kneel downs to run out the clock.  Gutierrez will likely get a chance to battle for the #2 or #3 QB for the Bears the rest of this pre-season.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2010) – The Bears have released Matt Gutierrez.  You could see this was going to happen as soon as the Bears inked Todd Collins.

The Bears have signed 26-year old linebacker Brian Iwuh.  Iwuh played in 15 games for the Jaguars last season and he had 29 tackles including 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 58 games in his NFL career and he has 83 tackles and 1 forced fumble.  This was a good signing for the Bears as Iwuh will provide depth at linebacker and help on special teams.

The Bears have signed 26-year old CB Tim Jennings to a 2-year deal.  Jennings played in 15 games (5 starts) for the Colts last season in which he has made 57 tackles, defensed 10 passes and he has 2 interceptions.  He has now played in 53 games (21 starts) in his NFL career in which he made 161 tackles, defensed 20 passes, he intercepted 4 passes and he forced 3 fumbles.  This was a good little move for the Bears as Jennings should help them out in the secondary.

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.