Rosenhaus Visits Training Camp, but Status of Jones, Briggs Still in Limbo

Seeing agent Drew Rosenhaus pull up to the Bears' training facility seemed to be an exciting turn of events in the eyes of Bears fans. Could he be there to work out an extension for Briggs? Did he orchestrate a trade for Jones? Turns out he was only there for client visits, so, for now, there's nothing really to report.

However, there was something which I read from ESPN.com that left me shaking my head, although I should come to expect things such as this from Chicago sports teams. If you recall, in a previous post that I had written, entitled "Will the Bears Show Up Next Season?", I proposed that the Bears trade Thomas Jones to the Denver Broncos for WR Ashley Lelie. And I quote... "I personally think that Jones is expendable and the Bears should take a gamble by sending him to Denver for disgruntled WR Ashley Lelie. This would satisfy both teams in that Denver would be getting the feature back they have been looking for and the Bears would get a bona fide 2nd WR who could learn from Mushin Muhammad and one day blossom into a star receiver. I read an article about Lelie on ESPN.com the other day which basically talked about how teams put too much stock in WRs who were chosen in the first round and never let them develop into 2nd receivers. Instead, these teams force them to be the focus of the offense right away. Lelie averaged 17.2 yards per catch in Denver, yet the Broncos always expected more out of him. The article gave me the feeling that Lelie could be something special. The Bears already have plenty of depth at running back with Benson, who showed flashes of why he was picked fourth overall, and Peterson, who I happen to think could start for a number of teams in the league."

Today, it comes to my attention that it was the Broncos who came to the Bears with this exact deal and it was the BEARS who turned them down. Ummm, yeah, wait, what? Are you kidding me? I thought, if anything, that it would be Denver rejecting the trade, not Chicago. The Bears actually turned down the opportunity to get a potential superstar receiver in return for a guy who no longer wants to be on the team? They turned away a player who had 17.2 yards per catch in favor of a former number seven pick who, before last year, had never rushed for over 1,000 yards? What am I missing here? Ok, they say they need depth at running back to play "Bear Football," and that would be a fair argument if not for the fact that they already have Benson and Peterson. I understand that Benson is unproven, but he, along with Lelie, has star potential, and by adding Lelie, the Bears would have improved their overall offense, rather than having their strength, that being the running game, concentrated in one position. Chicago GMs, with the exception of Jim Paxson, are the most cowardly group of men on the face of the planet. To be great you HAVE TO TAKE CHANCES, CALCULATED RISKS. The Bears just blew a chance to take that next step. They blew a chance to be great...

Thoughts? I need someone else to add their perspective to this whole mess. Maybe it will calm me down and keep me from throwing up my dinner. I'll be back later, maybe...