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 Chicago Bears have waived 27-year old LB Brian Iwuh.  Iwuh played in 11 games for the Bears this year and he had six tackles.  Iwuh played in 27 games in two years with the Bears and he had 32 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 2 forced fumbles.  Iwuh was just taking up roster space for the Bears this year as he wasn’t really doing much.  This is no loss for the Bears.

The Chicago Bears have waived 24-year old DE Nick Reed.  Reed played in 7 games for the Bears this year and he had 6 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 23 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 23 tackles, 1 sack, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 passes defensed.  Reed will probably hook on with another team this season, but the Bears won’t miss him as he didn’t do much for them.

The Bears have waived 29-year old strong safety Chris Harris.  Harris played in 3 games for the Bears this year and he had 8 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He played in 44 games in his four years with the Bears and he had 190 tackles, 21 passes defensed, 10 interceptions, 1 sack, 3 fumble recoveries and 6 tackles for a loss.  The Bears have claimed 22-year old LB Jabara Williams off waivers to replace Harris on the active roster.  Williams was a 7th round pick of the Rams in 2011.  He played in 2 games for the Rams this year but he didn’t have any tackles.

The Bears have released 23-year old cornerback Joshua Moore.  Moore played in 3 games as a rookie for the Bears last year and he had 1 whole tackle.  The Bears won’t miss him one bit in 2011 and beyond as he showed nothing in over a year for the Bears.

The Bears have released 26-year old DT Tank Tyler.  He didn’t play in any games last season in the NFL.  He has played in 43 games in his first 4 years in the NFL and he has 82 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 fumble recovery.  This is no loss for the Bears as Tyler has never turned into the player he was expected to be when he was drafted.

The Bears have released 31-year old RB Chester Taylor.  Taylor played in all 16 games for the Bears last year and he carried the ball 112 times for 267 yards (2.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 20 passes for 139 yards (7.0 avg) last year.  Kahlil Bell’s play plus the addition of Marion Barber in free agency pretty much pushed Chester Taylor out the door.  He should have played better last season, instead of sucking, if he wanted to keep his job in 2011.

UPDATE:  (8/29/2011) – Taylor hasn’t been released yet as the Bears are trying to trade him right now.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Bears have officially released Chester Taylor.

The Bears have dealt 26-year old TE Greg Olsen to the Panthers for a 3rd round pick in 2012.  Olsen played in 16 games (13 starts) for the Bears last year and he had 41 grabs for 404 yards (9.9 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Olsen played in 62 games (39 starts) in his four years with the Bears and he caught 194 passes for 1,981 yards (10.2 avg) with 20 TD grabs.  Offensive c0-ordinator Mike Martz doesn’t value the TE much in his offense which likely led to this deal.  I don’t think the Bears got fair value in return for Olsen.

The Bears have released 31-year old TE Brandon Manumaleuna.  Manumaleuna played in all 16 games for the Bears last year and he caught 5 passes for 43 yards (8.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 158 games in his first 10 years in the NFL and he has caught 115 passes for 1,008 yards (8.8 avg) with 13 TD grabs.  The Bears just couldn’t pay Manumaleuna the money he was set to earn in 2011, as they will use that cash to fill other needs.

The Chicago Bears have released 27-year old DT Tommie Harris.  Harris played in 15 games for the Bears last season and he had 13 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 2 fumble recoveries.  He played in 104 games in his seven years with the Bears and he had 213 tackles, 28.5 sacks, 5 passes defensed, 5 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  Harris played made it to 3 Pro Bowls for the Bears but he was getting phased out this past season.  Someone will take a flier and sign Harris who might be motivated to show the Bears that they made a mistake in letting him go.