There have been rumors about the Minnesota Vikings thinking about trying to sign Brian Urlacher, and even weirder ones about the Chicago Bears opting to return the linebacker, but at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be anyone interested in one of the most dominant defensive players of the last decade in the NFL.
Urlacher was released by the Bears, who made him an offer they knew he’d refuse. The 13 year veteran doesn’t want to retire, but at the moment, hardly a team with a need at middle linebacker remains, and even those who might find Urlacher as an upgrade to what they already have prefer shifting players around or giving sixth and seventh round picks a chance.
Things change in June. Teams get ready for another round of cuts and releases in order to clear some cap space, which might finally pave the way for Urlacher to get a team, but it’s hard to believe anyone but the Vikings, with a tendency to pick up veterans out of the NFC North, are currently looking seriously at Urlacher.
He might be one of those guys who is greatly devalued once his leadership and experience factor are taken out of the only team he has ever played for. Urlacher did perform well over the last three seasons, but is no longer a force to be reckoned with on a consistent basis, and an injury that kept him out of the final games during the 2012 season is also somewhat of a worrying factor.
At this point, it’s hard to believe anyone will look for Urlacher as more than a backup linebacker, and pay him as such. Even the $2 million a season the Bears offered him, hoping he’d decline, might no longer be on the table for the 34 year old, four time all-pro player.