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.

The Bears have released 30-year old OT Kevin Shaffer.  Shaffer played in all 16 games for the Bears last season but he only started 2 games.  He played in 32 games (7 starts) in his two years with the Bears.  With Jay Cutler looking like a pinata, the Bears need to bring in a lot of new blood for the O-Line.  They shouldn’t miss Shaffer at all going forward.

The Bears have released 30-year old linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer.  He missed all of last season due to injury.  Hillenmeyer played in 100 games in his 8 years with the Bears and he had 382 tackles, 12 passes defensed, 7 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions.  The Bears were fine without Hillenmeyer last season so they won’t miss him too much.  Kudos to Hillenmeyer for being a good soldier and a solid linebacker for the Bears.

The Bears have released 27-year old DE Mark Anderson.  Anderson played in 4 games for the Bears this year and he had 8 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  Anderson played in 66 games in his five years for the Bears and he had 113 tackles, 5 passes defensed, 21.5 sacks and 5 forced fumbles.  This comes as a bit of a surprise.

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 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.