Thread: Izzy

Bears not done with signings; Idonije inks 1-year deal
6:34 p.m. CDT, March 15, 2012
Brad Biggs
Tribune reporter

Phil Emery said Thursday afternoon the Chicago Bears could sign a few players in the next couple days or turn the focus to the NFL draft next month.

Before the Bears comb the college ranks for talent, they brought back a starter by announcing defensive end Israel Idonije is coming back on a one-year contract.

Idonije, 31, said all season long that he hoped to return, although he recevied a short-term deal that might not have realized his goals in terms of a pay day. Idonije had five sacks last season and said while the statistical production didn’t meet his levels in 2010, he felt he played better.

The Bears attempted to sign Jeremy Mincey on Tuesday but just before he accepted an offer from them he re-signed with the Jaguars for four years. Some speculated the team would monitor the situation with Kamerion Wimbley, who could be released by the Raiders. But now it looks more likely the team will look to select a defensive end near with one of their first picks and work a rookie into a rotation with Idonije and Julius Peppers.

That leaves two more Bears players on the open market that the Bears may be pursuing – safety Craig Steltz and cornerback Corey Graham, both core players on special teams.

“This is a very interesting period because there's been a lot of signings,” Emery said in a conference call Thursday afternoon. “There's still players, our own or UFAs, that we're considering. But it's almost hit that point of, take a breath, sit back and see who has not been signed, re-evaluate what you have and move forward from there.

“Don't be surprised that we add a few more players here in the next few days and don't be surprised if we don't because after we take that breath we may realize that it's best to start focusing on the draft to meet our needs.”

Idonije had a base salary of $2.4 million last season. He signed a two-year extension in 2009 that included $7 million in new money.

Bears not done with signings; Idonije inks 1-year deal - chicagotribune.com

Biggs forgot about Okoye

Originally Posted by short faced bear

Biggs forgot about Okoye

In his interview he said they were in negotiations with him. Bringing Izzy back for this season makes sense. I'm sure he wasn't all that costly and he's a solid player just not a spectacular pass rusher. We'll see what happens if Wimbley or Freeney are cut loose and it looks like they will be. Abrahams is still out there too. The trouble with the post 30 set is they're expecting big dollars when teams who are interested want to just rent them for a year or two without spending big.

Signing Izzy, who probably wasn't going anywhere any way, is the smart thing to do in order to cover our ass at LDE until we can make a move on a pass rusher either in FA or the draft. The more I see of this the more I think it's gonna be the draft but that's just my hunch. Strictly as a pass rusher it's just as likely a high motor rookie with some moves can get you double digit sacks as it is a grizzled vet and the rookie is millions less expensive.

We'll add to that position before the season starts. We've taken two swings and missed on both but that tells us they're serious about improving the pass rush.

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

Let me tell you...Emery is showing himself to be a very savy GM. You protect yourself with this 1yr deal, since you don't know what you can even expect from the talented Wooton next year and you are still in the ballgame for another DE instead of needing 2. Good move keeping a veteran like Izzy. He's a solid guy to have in a DE rotation.

Exactly. You beat me to it by 5 minutes LOL. It was a smart move. Izzy is dependable and not all that expensive. I doubt he got anymore than he got last year.

Originally Posted by Chi66

Whats your opinion on Reed, Mercilus, Ingram, and Coples?

I'm thinking you mean Perry here. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Coples won't make it out of the top 10 unless he robs a 7-11 between now and the draft. That guys has all kinds of potential if he'll use it. He's also the only "big" DE rated in the first round. The others are more like pumped up OLB's and they're rated as both DE's and 3-4 Rushbackers.

Ingram and Perry are the safer bets Mercilus could be an All Pro or a huge bust. A guy really needs to do his homework on him. He wow people with his athletic ability but he lacks some football skills you'd like to see. If he didn't I think he'd be a top 10 pick too. If Perry can keep his weight around 270lbs he can play DE but at 250lbs he more likely to be a Clay Matthews OLB.

One guy whose been quietly rising on the board is Fletcher Cox. He's built more like a DT (6'4" 295lbs is how NFP has him listed) but the scouting reports say that he's got enough quickness to play outside or at the 3t DT spot Melton plays. I think the guy is intriguing and he's got the kind of flexibility that would attract the Bears. If we don't re-sign Okoye we'll need another DT for the rotation and if we do maybe we get him to drop 20lbs and play him at LDE. I've seen a couple of mocks that have us taking him at #19. He should be worth watching as we get nearer to the draft and we see where we stand on the Dline.

Other than that I'd probably like to have Perry as long as he can play somewhere around 260-270lbs.

Edit: Sox is a great guy to corner for an opinion about these guys he spends a lot of time watching them play whereas I'm depending more on scouting reports and opinions from the guru's and semi guru's.