Thread: Bears S Chris Harris will formally request trade today

Originally Posted by motownbear

wtf you talking about soul we can use that 7th rounder on another LT lmfao

Or on OG. What a mixed bag on this line huh? Carimi, CWill and Spencer all 1st round picks, Webb and Louis 7th round picks, OMG was somewhere in the middle rounds (5 maybe) and I think Garza was picked in the middle rounds too and EWill I don't recall. There is no rhyme or reason to how we draft lineman or sign FA's.

I would take another Clutts for Harris

Originally Posted by short faced bear

I would take another Clutts for Harris

We already have two Clutts but the other one is named Omiyale.

I didn't post this for the human interest value of this benefit or to trumpet the frienship between Chris Harris and his teamates. I just did it because of the one line I highlighted an underlined.

Looks OMG has finally found a job that he can handle. Better watch it though Frank, if you spill any food you'll be demoted to 3rd string bus boy and dish washer! He's lucky Jay Cutler wasn't mailing invitations. He's never have been invited to begin with.


Charles Tillman calls Chris Harris "great friend" and "great teammate"

By Sean Jensen on October 17, 2011 10:07 PM| No Comments| No TrackBacks


I had the pleasure of writing about Bears cornerback Charles Tillman, who has a great perspective on life because of his daughter Tiana. Click here to read the story from Sunday.

On Monday night, at Morton's The Steakhouse in Northbrook, Tillman hosted a Cornerstone Foundation event there.
It was bigger than last year's event at Morton's in downtown Chicago, he said. "We have the entire restaurant," he said. "And I have more [teammates] than last year." Bears on hand were: Matt Forte, to Johnny Knox, Matt Toeaina, Corey Graham, Caleb Hanie, Craig Steltz, Anthony Adams, Frank Omiyale, D.J. Moore, Tim Jennings and Brandon Meriweather.
Moore was the funniest, poking fun at one attendee by calling him Jerry Rice.

"I bussed tables and washed dishes, so this is a step up for me," Omiyale said of serving food from a platter.

All the players I talked to were relieved about the dominant victory over the Minnesota Vikings. But there was definitely a buzz about Chris Harris asking to be traded. "He's a great friend and a great teammate. He's a key figure for the defense," Tillman said. "But Chris Harris has to do what's best for him and his family. Teams make business moves all the time."

Tillman said Major Wright and rookie Chris Conte "held their own."

As for Meriweather, he was surprised when I asked him about Harris' trade request. "I didn't know that. Wow," he said. "I just tried to call Chris. "Chris is a great player, and he's a smart player and fun to be around. He's one of the ones I'm closest to on the team. I hope Chris gets to play one year with me and we can go through the bumps and bruises together. I'm one of those people who likes people to stay together."

I'd like to say you're all wrong, because Harris didn't get traded, but we all know he's gone after the season for reasons unknown, anyway.

Bears, Harris stuck together
MARK POTASH ON THE BEARS October 18, 2011 9:20PMUpdated: October 18, 2011 11:53PM


It’s too bad the Oakland Raiders didn’t need a safety. Finding a team that would pay double the value for Chris Harris was about the only scenario that would have made sense for the Bears to trade their veteran safety. Not surprisingly, there were no takers for Harris as the NFL trade deadline passed Tuesday. So the Bears are stuck with their best safety for the rest of the season.

Whether the Bears know it or not — your guess is as good as mine — they’ll need Harris before the season is out. Maybe before the month is out. Maybe before the week is out the way this team goes through safeties.

This is not the end of the world at Halas Hall. The Harris saga is unlikely to ignite enough angst in the Bears’ locker room to cause an implosion.

But don’t kid yourself. This is more a move out of panic than the kind of accountability that makes the Patriots, Packers and Steelers world championship teams. Harris was the Bears’ best safety last season,
undoubtedly an above-average player, if not Pro Bowl-caliber. And after two games this season, he’s suddenly expendable? If the Bears were that adept at evaluating talent, they wouldn’t be
piecing together an offensive line 11 years into Jerry Angelo’s tenure as general manager. They might not even have needed Harris in the first place. (Mo, 4th this ones for you, LOL)
It might turn out to be the right move. Rookie Chris Conte has the potential and the speed to play for a long time in the NFL. But it’s such an awkward demotion, based on a sudden drop in production — something the Bears usually struggle to identify this quickly — that it doesn’t totally pass the smell test.
Asked why Harris was inactive against the Vikings, coach Lovie Smith explained that it was because Harris doesn’t play special teams. Safety Brandon Meriweather didn’t play special teams, either, and he was active. That kind of hole in Lovie’s account makes you wonder if there’s more to the story.

Caught in the undertow

Rookie Winston Venable was caught in the middle of the Bears’ safety shakeup. Venable was dropped from the 53-man roster to the practice squad in favor of rookie Anthony Walters, who is more of a true safety. Venable was a linebacker/safety hybrid at Boise State and has been working with the linebackers in practice recently.

Venable is a good special-teams player and the kind of hard hitter the Bears need. It appears Walters was promoted because he is more safety-ready, and the Bears are in panic mode at that position this season.

‘‘I just think they’re making some moves, and I just happen to be a part of those moves,’’ Venable said. ‘‘Whether it was something I was doing or not doing, I don’t think it was as simple as that.’’

It’s a tough break for Venable because he has a $20,000 fine from the NFL hanging over him for a helmet-to-helmet hit in the final preseason game. On the active roster, he was making $22,000 a week. On the practice squad, his salary drops to $5,700 a week.

Venable is appealing the fine. The new collective-bargaining agreement allows for that drop in pay to be considered as an extenuating circumstance. If the NFL doesn’t buy it, that one hit will cost him nearly six weeks of pay.