So Long Davis and Spaeth.................

**soulman** · 03-13-2013, 01:02 PM

Bears cut Davis, Spaeth; Toeaina set to be released

Chicago Bears tight end Kellen Davis makes a TD reception last season against Carolina. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune / October 28, 2012)

By Vaughn McClure, Tribune reporter 12:35 p.m. CDT, March 13, 2013

The Chicago Bears' signing Tuesday of tight end Martellus Bennett to a four-year, $20 million contract made veterans Kellen Davis and Matt Spaeth expendable, and both were released Wednesday.

The Bears also are expected to release veteran defensive tackle Matt Toeaina, according to a league source. Toeaina spent the last six seasons with the team but lost his starting job to Stephen Paea.

The Bears apparently approached Toeaina's camp about taking a paycut with one year left on his deal and they refused. He is due a base salary of $760,000 with a $290,000 roster bonus and $75,000 workout bonus. Releasing Toeaina would save the Bears $1.125 million in cap space as Toeaina would count $500,000 against the cap.

Davis, a former fifth-round draft pick from Michigan State whose release was announced by the team, never lived up to expectations despite being a big, athletic target. Last season, Davis caught 19 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns but had his share of drops. In five seasons with the Bears, he had 47 catches for 529 yards with 11 touchdowns. He started 35 of the 80 games he played in as a Bear.

Davis had a $2.4 million base salary with a $100,000 workout bonus. He would have counted $3.85 million against the cap if on the team and now counts $1.35 million against the cap after being released.

The Bears also parted ways with their other incumbent tight end, Spaeth confirmed. He had a base salary of $1.025 million with a $500,000 roster bonus and $100,000 workout bonus. He counts $333,334 against the cap after being released.

Spaeth, who signed a three-year contract with the Bears in 2011 after starting his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was a valuable all-purpose player last season. He started 16 games in two seasons with the Bears and caught 13 passes for 78 yards with three touchdowns.

Spaeth underwent minor arthroscopic knee surgery on Jan. 11 but said it was "no big deal" in terms of affecting his participation. He should be able to catch on elsewhere rather quickly.

With Davis and Spaeth now out of the mix, Evan Rodriguez might get a chance to be the backup pass-catching tight end behind Bennett. Rodriguez was used more as a fullback last season.

Profootballtalk.com first reported the news of Davis being released; ESPNChicago.com first reported Spaeth's release.

vxmcclure@tribune.com

**omc1969** · 03-13-2013, 01:07 PM

Bye, Bye "Dickfingers" !

**soulman** · 03-13-2013, 01:18 PM

Well if McClure's figures are correct (Toe's is a little confusing) these cuts add $4.9 mil back to the cap. That's enough to either make a run at an OG like Moore or cover what Urlacher is asking for if they're ready to get his deal done.

Nothing unexpected here. Both Davis and Spaeth became expendable and the had to know it the minute we announced the signing of Bennett. Paea has taken Toe's spot and although I do hope we get Collins back I'd like to see us draft or find elsewhere a bigger NT to use in the rotation. Some wide body who goes 320-330lbs and can still move.

**Coolhandluke** · 03-13-2013, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by soulman

Well if McClure's figures are correct (Toe's is a little confusing) these cuts add $4.9 mil back to the cap. That's enough to either make a run at an OG like Moore or cover what Urlacher is asking for if they're ready to get his deal done.

Nothing unexpected here. Both Davis and Spaeth became expendable and the had to know it the minute we announced the signing of Bennett. Paea has taken Toe's spot and although I do hope we get Collins back I'd like to see us draft or find elsewhere a bigger NT to use in the rotation. Some wide body who goes 320-330lbs and can still move.

I think they can get that OG and BU for the 5mil savings. The remaining guards might average 3-4mil/year but that first year cap hit s/b less with the pro rated signig bonus. BU really has very little bargaining position.

**soulman** · 03-13-2013, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by Coolhandluke

I think they can get that OG and BU for the 5mil savings. The remaining guards might average 3-4mil/year but that first year cap hit s/b less with the pro rated signig bonus. BU really has very little bargaining position.

Well does he or doesn't he? That's a very good question and I wouldn't assume that he doesn't. We aren't hearing about a lot of teams pursuing him but I think that's because he's wants to play in Chicago and he's made his proposal and waiting for an answer to it. If that doesn't come soon eventually he starts looking more seriously at other offers.

You know it's always tough to figure out just how it's all gonna work out with iconic players. For a crappy team needing a MLB bringing him in is good PR and maybe it generates some badly needed fan interest yet I can't see Brian wanting to play for a team without championship potential. In other words I don't think he's talking with Buffalo, LOL, but Dallas because of Marinelli? It's not out of the question and it's not beyond a guy like Jerry Jones to do it as a PR move.

Right now I can see it either way but for the moment I believe it's all on hold because the Bears have asked for that and he's willing to do it. He wants to finish his career in Chicago but if push came to shove (as in he feels shoved out the door) then he knows that somebody will take a shot and sign him. I really don't think he's between the rock and the hard place we are. It's a ticklish situation for Emery for a whole lot of reasons because there are gonna be a lot of unhappy campers if he doesn't bring him back.

I also think we can get an OG but in that case it has to be the right one. What I've observed about Emery so far is that not only does he make good decisions on what he needs but he's also very particular about who he wants and he's not into settling for less unless he sees very little difference between player A and player B. He's looking for the "right guy" not just "a guy". It seems to me that somebody like Moore fits his needs for a very good vet who can take over a starting spot while we spend another year or two developing younger talent but Moore is probably looking for more right now than he wants to pay so he'll wait him out and see what happens.

I think the younger players will end up pushing these older guys down into the second go round of FA where the real bargains are. If they get passed over for the kind of money they've been making they're gonna want something on the table they can live with and that's where I think Emery is headed with his plans for that. If you can draft kids as good as Warmack and Cooper look to be and pay them around $2 mil or so per year it's hard to justify paying a whole lot more for a 30+ year old vet to hold the fort.

Eventually you've got to draft those younger guys or pay the premium that younger FAs get and the latter was not what Emery was brought in to do. If he can't find his LG in FA then at least he should have a shot at one or two very good ones in the draft but he also has an aging MLB who needs to be replaced soon and his SLB and #2 MLB is more than likely gonna depart so you gotta think that he has a guy like Ogletree on his list as well.

**motownbear** · 03-13-2013, 02:23 PM

well with BU at his stage of his career the reality is teams wont start looking at him as an option until probably round two or three of FA

right now its the big fish next will be depth and veterans on a discount

**Smoking Jay** · 03-13-2013, 02:25 PM

how did they find a picture with davis catching a ball?

**a_miljan** · 03-13-2013, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by Smoking Jay

how did they find a picture with davis catching a ball?

photoshop

**Riczaj01** · 03-13-2013, 02:34 PM

No surpises here. Wonder if anyone else is going to get the axe; or if we'll start to see some restructures to help create some more wiggle room.

**Coolhandluke** · 03-13-2013, 02:36 PM

The top FA's have been signed and hearing Bill Polian point out that they were all young, healthy and productive. I think the next tier or two are going to take more time to sign and thats where emery will hone in on. It could be the 33 year old moore but my preference would be a younger type who you can pencil in for more than a year or two. As far as filling BU's shoes, thats a toughie for me. Ogletree is the top althlete but has the off field problems and may be better suited as a wlb. Below is a list of his weaknesses which they all have. Personally, I like Minter or Brown but not at #20. We may have a bargaining chip inTavon Austin to trade down with if he is there at 20. I could see the texans or Pats wanting to trade up for that 4.3 productive slot guy.

Rarely uses hands to fight with blockers despite an aggressive mentality. Overruns a lot of plays between the tackles, struggles to recover. Has a lot of issues dealing with second level blocks from the offensive line, rarely can work over top of them, there winds up walled off. Run and chase player at this point, loses gap integrity with false or wasted steps. Dives or lunges for a lot of tackles rather than running through them and wrapping up. Mentality changes when attacking an offensive lineman compared to a running back.

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