By Vaughn McClure
The Bears were putting the finishing touches Friday afternoon on a deal for defensive end Julius Peppers, the top player on the free-agent market, and ESPN's Adam Schefter and John Clayton both reported it was a done deal.
According to FoxSports' Jay Glazer, Peppers and the Bears have agreed to terms, but there was a hold-up on the contract language and he was still taking his physical.
Carl Carey, Peppers' agent, told the Tribune that the deal wasn't finalized, but he hoped it would be soon. This was 15 minutes before the Bears' scheduled 5 p.m. news conference at Halas Hall.
Earlier Friday, the Bears agreed to a five-year, $17 million deal ($6 million guaranteed) with tight end Brandon Manumaluena and a four-year, $12.5 million deal ($7 million guaranteed) with running back Chester Taylor.
The proposed Peppers deal was believed to be in the range of a six-year, $72 million contract with $40-45 million in the first three years, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The numbers would descend after the first three years.
Peppers arrived in town Friday and took a physical. The Bears needed to put the full-court press on, with the Patriots and Eagles reportedly extending offers as well.
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WOW...amazing some of the ignorance being spewed here. Look at some clown named "z"..."through"?...how about THROW..moron. And then you have "the big dipper" (perfect name) who said that Reggie White and Jared Allen didn't work out for their respective teams. I guess he forgot about Farve running around the Super Dome with a big grin on his face as a SB WINNER. And Jared Allen was a trade and far be it for me to defend a viking, but it's not his fault Favre threw the game away. And that brings me to "former bear's fan" {Never was on if you ask me}. Go look at the stats, Javon Kearse was never the player Peppers is. JK's best year was his first. Pepper's best sack year came last year. Plus he had 3 10+ sack years while Pepper's has had 6.
And the same people bashing the moves today are the same idiots who would complain if the Bear's hadn't done anything. No one..and I mean no one has bashed Jerry Angelo over the past 4 years more than I have. But he and the Bear's stepped up today. Is Peppers 30? yeah, but he's been virtually injury free for his career. And having him in the same division as Jared Allen and Vanden Bosch will be motivation to be the best in the division. Chester taylor has 'fresh' legs and is a beast.
I will take any bet on 6 wins. You can't really judge most schedules until they have been played, but looking at the Bear's, I see wins vs. washington, seattle, 2 vs. Detroit, Carolina, and Buffalo. If they can just split with Minnesota and GB, and win 2 games vs. NE, NYJ, NYG, Dallas, and Miami that would be 10 wins in my book. And as i said, you never know how things are going to work out. The NE Patriots will not be the same without Welker and Moss and New Orleans and Indy proved that their defense is old and slow. I am not hard to find and will take the over on 6 wins.
Complaceny is the motor of failure, but don't ever under estimate fear of losing your job as a motivator to do better.
You can't really find an impact safety, pass rusher, or stud tackle in the 3rd round. BUT, you can easily find interior linemen with that 74th pick in the draft. Great day Bear's fans.
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Its not 72 million its 92 million, Peppers is getting 20 million the first year, the early contract info is wrong. Bears are paying about 2 million a sack. 122 million for these players, for 122 I would have thought Peppers, Atogwe, Taylor and Mala what ever his name is. He is getting more guaranteed money that Haynesworth 42 mil, wow I mean WOW. That really is a Redskins move right there.
No team has ever had Jay Cutler and had a winning season.
These free agents aren't enough to overcome him.
man some of these negative posts are a joke the bears have improved dramatically in one fell swoop!! this is my last blog!! i for one am very happy and excited.. check out this defense.. peppers, urlacher, pisa, briggs, harris, offense better running back in taylor and a compliment to forte, a bruising beast of a tight end manu who can block abd catch.. stay home whiners!
The Chicago Redskins are on their way.
Until they figure out how to turn Jay Cutler into something other than the dumbest QB in football, none of this matters.
I wish I could have all of you naysayers lined up in a row so I could punch all of you in the face!! Get a life you ho-hum, miserable italian beef eating, old style swill drinking losers who would get winded just thinking of going into a 3 point stance. God I can't stand Chicago sportsfans. You hate everything on earth!!!
Anyone who seriously think this team will win more than 5 games next year should never watch (or has never watched) football again.
I know there are alot of stupid people in the world but the negative hyperbole in these comment sections always amazes me. The Bears are 47-33 in the last 5 years with a super bowl trip and no seasons worse than 7-9 but people are kool-aid drinking homers if they dont realize we have terrible players and management and will be lucky to win 6 games. The Bears spent tons of money in a CAP FREE year in front end loaded contracts that can be waived later anyways. There is no downside here except the Bears will make less profits. Also, the 1st 2 picks in the draft we would have had would cost us $35+MM for unproven guys anyways. Get over yourselves haters and get off the bus. I will see the rest of you at Soldier field every sunday next year. BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lets get OJ Atogwe and this free agency is a success.
GetUp on March 5, 2010 4:55 PM
how is this a bad deal? we get a premier pass-rusher and there is no salary cap so we dont get penalized. win win?
------------------------
Look at the Redskins over the last 10 or so seasons and you will have your answer.
You people are jerks.
how is this a bad deal? we get a premier pass-rusher and there is no salary cap so we dont get penalized. win win?
Are any of these guys we signed capable of inserting a brain into Jay Cutler so today matters?
Some serious cash for what? Lets hope they are worth it.
How is it that 3 guys signed on the first day they could sign, wouldn't they want to think about the offer or at least compare it to others prior to signing?
Something doesn't seem right here, I hope this doesn't end up costing us more draft picks or we may never get above 500 again.
I can't believe Bears fans think this was well spent money. The Bears may get to 6 wins next year if they are lucky.
DA BEARS 2011 SUPER BOWL CHAMPS THEY WILL GO UNDEFEATED, I LIKE ALL THE PACKER AND VIKING FANS HERE WHINING YADDA YADDA. WHO DID YOUR TEAMS SIGN? NO ONE. LMAO
The Bears are once again the laughingstock of the NFL with these ridiculous signings. Great job boys, you are now officially the Redskins.
senorbungle I said the same exact thing on another Peppers related thread here.
1st play of the regular season! Peppers blows out his ACL,lost for the season. Quick passing slants = Peppers ineffective.
So I guess this evens the score with Carolina for the Chris Harris deal, right?
Obviously whoever thinks this is a bad idea is not a Bears fan. Reggie White was 32 when he signed with the Packers and played until 38. They front loaded the money so they can dump him in 4 years if needed. The Eagles and Patriots were willing to give him the same amount and those teams have GM's who know what they are doing.
Hey the The HJ? I'm with you man. I'm a life long bears fan as well, and I'm always suprised that no matter what the bears do. People are always complaining. Getting cutler and now Peppers is the best thing that could have ever happened to this team. Usually what happens as well is that you get people on here that know nothing about football, or they are fans of other teams trying to make it sound like they are bears fans and their not.
@That's Right
You are hilarious!!!!!!!!!
But I'm still happy today
The ones that complain are not Bears fans just lame fudge packer vi-queens fans. This is a great day for Bears football we got a premier DE to help boost Tommie Harris play, Chester Taylor maybe be 30 but he is super fresh and is the best RB on the FA market that didnt have wear and tear on it. With talks of taking a Safety like Sharper or Otogwe I'd say the Bears are gearing up to make a serious run to the Super Bowl or out of Halas Hall. Either way as a true fan I am excited and cant wait to see this years Bears perform. BEAR DOWN!!!
Lots of haters on this board, it's understandable the Bears just owned day 1 of free agency. I can understand the bitterness of other teams fans that decided to drop in and see ALL of the best players sign here. Of course this doesn't mean the Bears are a Super Bowl team, but in todays NFL where the Saints are the top of the heap I'll take it. Nice work Jerry!
Peppers has 81 career sacks by the time this deals done he'll have HOF numbers, nice work. Now get Bolden and Atugwe and we'll make you a statue Jerry
Yahoooooooo,
We are now better than Detroit.
Who cares about the rest of the division anyway.
Chicago fans are just never happy. Complain when you sign guys, complain when you don't.
Vegas just updated the over under on Bears wins for 2010 after these signings from 5.5 to 6.
It's true. What a day.
I cant believe how many dummies that are making positive comments about this move. We have some of the stupidest fans ever here in Chicago.Complete morons! Obviously if you think signing julius peppers past his prime is a good move you don't watch football and definitely are not a bears fan.
While I'm excited and proud that the Bears are spending money left and right but I don't know if these signing were in our best interest for the next couple of years. Jerry & Lovie need to win next season and these signings show as much. So now if we don't get to the Super Bowl, will it be considered a disappointment? The only signing that I think will translate into wins is Peppers. We have pretty good TEs and we didn't need a 30 y.o. RB. That $ should have been spent on the O-Line. I guess there's wasn't anyone out there that was going to get the fans excited.
Next season should be fun to watch if everyone is healthy. If not, the "Fire Lovie" countdown will be ticking twice as fast...
I cant believe how many dummies that are making negative comments about this move. We have some of the stupidest fans ever here in Chicago.Complete morons! Obviously if you think signing julius peppers in his prime is a bad move you don't watch football and definitely are not a bears fan.
What a day, now we should be able to win 6 next year for sure.
Holy $h#t!!! The biggest winner of Peppers coming to the Bears...Tommie Harris. If that D line doesn't put some serious pressure on opposing quarterbacks next year, some coaches ABSOLUTELY have to go. I'm still really concerned about that offensive line. One blocking TE does not make a solid offensive line. But man is that D starting to look promising.
Right - Cutler & Martz is mediocrity? He set records here and isn't even at the top of his game. Ha.
man listening to all the haters makes it seem like were in Green Bay, sound like a bunch of pansies, the regular season was bad enough at least we can be winners in the offseason. Lets see how it plays out, worst comes to worst the whole management will be out and this franchise is turned around, its a win-win situation. Stop all the feminine whining
Why does the road to mediocrity always end up at Halas Hall?
I need a bigger grave with all the rolling over I'm doing today.
I wish I played for the Packers when I see this mess.
Should we just call them the Chicago Redskins now that they are following their team structuring philosophies so concisely.
how's that Sweetness?
Chumps
Can anyone say Tommie Peppers? Or are you all in the Rex Cutler phase still?
Chumps
If the Bears understood the difference between spending money wisely and spending money, this could have been a great day.
haha, Right on, I crack myself up too. This guy below knocking what I posted as a true bears fan probably is the type of bandwagon fan I am talking about. Everyone has an opinion buddy & at least I stick with my name and have an opinion that makes sense. If we stay healty we will be back as the MONSTERS OF THE MIDWAY!
MGZ on March 5, 2010 2:49 PM
Listen to all you NON-Bears fans or casual football watchers that when the Bears don't do good you shut the game off or don't watch at all and then go and act like you are a TRUE FAN ! You are NOT!
1) Peppers is older but is a sack machiene. He will have a higher motor playing for the Bears. He wants a championship.
'''''''''''''''''''
Vegas was built off of people like you.
drback on March 5, 2010 2:50 PM
I hope with all these signings, all the morons that leave the "The McCaskeys are cheap, they should sell the team" posts will just throw their keyboards away and just shut the hell up
'''''''''''''
Agreed,
they are stupid, not cheap.
but no one ever said you have to smart to get an inheritance.
MGZ on March 5, 2010 2:49 PM
[[[[
You people need to read this guys post, it is hilarious. Any time you hear people talk about idiot fans, this is who they are talking about.
The HJ. I totally agree with you. This is one of the most exciting days I can remember being a die hard bears fan for the last 20+ years, and most of you on hear just want to bitch at everything. You must have very sad miserable lives. Why don't you all go and follow the Lions or Rams, then you really would haveing something to bitch about all the time! Go Bears!!
I hope with all these signings, all the morons that leave the "The McCaskeys are cheap, they should sell the team" posts will just throw their keyboards away and just shut the hell up.
Listen to all you NON-Bears fans or casual football watchers that when the Bears don't do good you shut the game off or don't watch at all and then go and act like you are a TRUE FAN ! You are NOT!
1) Peppers is older but is a sack machiene. He will have a higher motor playing for the Bears. He wants a championship.
Best point of all
2) When he commands a double team, & he will, Tommie Harris will and I mean will be in the backfield this year. He will be way better this year because he is for once healthy with no of season surgery. How will you double tommie and peppers??
3) Zack bowman 6 picks this year with no pass rush. Come on with the pass rush we will have with peppers, harris, adams, brown, & urlacker or pisa comming in on a blitz. Give that boy 10!
BEAR DOWN ! GO BEARS!
FROM THE CVILLE
It just goes to show you that a player will take money over a wining team every time.
Good call HJ...the team is trying to make moves on issues they needed to address. They improved the defense (low sack totals and no pressure on opposing OB's) and got help for Forte (he can't carry the ball 30 times a game). Seems like fans always want the big names. Bears will get help with recievers, just chill people.
Well I think we all know that jesus is more of a 3-4 guy rather than a cover 2
I don't want any pass rushers through trades or free agency. It didn't work for the Packers with Reggie White or the Vikings with Jared Allen and won't work for the Bears with Julius Peppers.
Yeah, Jesus is way under sized and I don't think he would fit into the Cover 2. Plus, he didn't have the best numbers in college.
Julius Peppers is the best player in the draft. Chester Taylor is a beast and makes our backfield really strong. For all of you haters...what would you rather have had the Bears do this off-season? Nothing? Considering their position, I think they are getting an A+ grade for free agency right now.
This Peppers signing will be a "Cutler-esque" disaster. Six years and a lot of $$ to witness the downside of a career. The Eagles did this years back with a more dominant force named Jevon Kearse, and look how that turned out. Another huge, huge mistake by Angelo and the Bears.
Phil K on March 5, 2010 2:24 PM
Half you guys would complain if the bears signed Jesus Christ
'''''
Would you really be happy or surprised if they sign a 2000 year old carpenter?
Half you guys would complain if the bears signed Jesus Christ
This is the first time the Bears have ever paid for the best player available in free agency and I am so damn happy we did!!!
I don't care about the reason behind it because the dude is still a double digit sack monster and we haven't seen that since Dent!
Now all of you haters need to shut up and be happy for once or move to Detroit!
"How to build a 500 team" by Jerry Angelo.
After today, is it more accurate to compare our management team to the Redskins or the Raiders?
Discuss.
If you think that these players are bringing the Bears back to the promised land, you sucker Bears fans have another thing coming.
All these players are, are stopgaps for a failed system under Luv Me Smith.
More money wasted on bandaids while your ticket prices skyrocket!
Remember how you all were being forced fed the savior in Rex Cutler taking the Bears far? I thought so.
Keep enabling this pathetic coach and team guys.
$12 mil per year? We got a good deal out of this. With the Taylor deal being pretty reasonable as well, we have enough room for Atogwe and maybe another player or two. If we get the free safety out of FA, then we can focus exclusively on the OL in the draft early on.
Once again, I am surprised by Angelo and Co. Two years in a row, I didn't think they had it in them, and here we are...
now we have our jared allen without the dumb hair and bull rap BEAR DOWN!
We have just transformed from the Lions to the Raiders.
i agree with THE HJ!! we have the makings of a very solid team! peppers adding an elite pass rusher helps the whole defensive line! harris wont be doubled as much and if he causes havoc up the middle it frees our great linebackers up to make plays. pressure helps the conerbacks in coverage! now we can concentrate on getting a free saftey and oline help through the draft! get over yourselves!
Peppers is hardly a bum z. And we hardly threw redskins like wasted cash at him considering he made 18 mil last year and franchise by Carolina would have him getting 20 this year. For 12 mil, I like this deal!
I'm a huge Bears fan and am always amazed by the bitterness of my fellow fans...never happy! All this stuff about management all the time...shut your mouths and put a freaking smile on your face for once D bags!
Does peppers play offensive line or catch balls down the field?
This proves that Z must be a Bears fan then. It's throw the bums a name. Good try though!
MISTAKE
This proves that Bears management see Bears fans as idiots.
"Through the bums a name and they'll eat it up" Jerry Angelo.