Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, who most recently complained about the turf at Soldier Field, the trip to London, and the bow tie of Dhani Jones, took a more positive approach on Friday, when he publicly called for the team to re-sign a pair of its looming free agents.
“The two guys I think we gotta get -- and I’m hoping I’m not leaving anybody out because we have a few free agents -- but [defensive tackle] Anthony Adams and [center] Olin Kreutz,” Urlacher told Ross Tucker and Jim Miller of SiriusXM NFL Radio. “Olin’s the leader of our locker room, the leader of our offensive line. He takes all the heat, man, when things go bad up front everyone points the finger at him which is not fair. And he takes the heat, he doesn’t hang guys out to dry, he takes the heat.
“Double A, Anthony Adams, is a great player,” Urlacher said. “He’s always in his gap, he’s always up the field making plays, and he’s a great teammate. People don’t realize, man, you get these guys who, sometimes they’re turds and they’re good players and so they’re hard to deal with. He’s not. He’s a fun guy to be around. He’s a great player.”
To summarize, then: (1) Kreutz, takes the heat; (2) Adams, not a turd.
As to anyone Urlacher may have omitted, there aren’t many. Danieal Manning tops the list of other free agents on defense. On offense, receivers Devin Aromashadu and Rashied Davis will be free agents, as will tight end Desmond Clark. After losing to the Packers in the NFC title game, coach Lovie Smith said there’s “no reason” to break up the team now. (And then the next month they cut defensive tackle Tommie Harris, linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer, and offensive tackle Kevin Shaffer.)