Thread: Bears expected to make Wright move at safety

Bears expected to make Wright move at safety

March 8, 2011 4:21 PM

By Brad Biggs


For the first time since 2001 when Mike Brown paired with Tony Parrish, who would go on to a Pro Bowl career in San Francisco, the Chicago Bears had two safeties start all 16 games in 2010.

Danieal Manning paired with Chris Harris on the back end, and the end of the musical chairs the team had been playing at the position for so many seasons was an obvious reason for some of the improvements made on defense.

You can make a case that Harris was better than he was in his first run with the team. He tied for the team-lead with five interceptions and had two fumble recoveries, giving him seven takeaways. His 96 tackles were fourth on the roster and he was decent at free safety, even if he's better suited to play strong safety.

Manning, finally allowed to start at one position and remain there through the entire season, did well at strong safety and was fifth on the team in tackles. Both veterans took their turn going to the sideline so rookie third-round draft pick Major Wright could be worked in. You can get in an interesting debate about what would have happened to the playing time had Wright not suffered a serious hamstring pull in the Week 2 victory at Dallas that wiped out half of his season. Before we look ahead, here is a look at how playing time broke down last season:

Danieal Manning: 893 snaps, 86.0 percent

Chris Harris: 857, 82.6 percent

Major Wright: 283, 27.3 percent

Josh Bullocks: 43, 4.1 percent

Craig Steltz: 0, 0.0

The primary objective during the offseason will be getting Wright ready for a starting role. He's got the combination of range and ball skills to go with toughness that makes him a favorite for the coaches. The question is who will he be paired with? The easy answer right now is Harris. The veteran has one year remaining on his contract after restructuring it to come back in a trade with the Carolina Panthers. Harris would like a contract extension while Manning is looking for a contract, period. The Bears made a run at Manning in December when they signed veterans Matt Toeaina and Pat Mannelly to extensions, even though his agent Russel Hicks denied at the time any communication had occurred with the club.

Manning, who is expected to be an unrestricted free agent, has value to the Bears because he's a durable performer and he's improved since being allowed to settle into one position. He's also given the team value on special teams. But Wright is someone the Bears are definitely going to promote and Harris has superior instincts and a better knack for creating turnovers than Manning, something coach Lovie Smith puts a premium on. It can't be overlooked, though, that Smith has long supported Manning and he coached him individually when he was the nickel back. It's unlikely Manning returns, though, unless he finds a soft market for his services. In that case, the Bears could get him back at their price like they have other veterans in the past, including linebacker Lance Briggs.

The Bears learned the hard way they can't go light at the position. It's difficult to keep safeties healthy -- just look at stars like Bob Sanders, Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed -- and when the Bears traded Harris away before the start of the 2007 season they started a downward spiral at the position. So if Manning does depart, the Bears will need to find help, preferably not someone in the same mold as Adam Archuleta. It's worth noting that Josh Bullocks, who was a steady special teams performer, is also an unrestricted free agent.