Brian Urlacher Expected Low Offer From Bears, Says He’ll Play In 2013

Brian Urlacher doesn’t know what his value is in a depressed market, and he isn’t sure if he’ll get more than the Bears’ one-year deal worth up to $2 million. Asked if he’d considered the modest contracts for free agents this offseason, Urlacher told the Sun-Times, ‘‘What I factored is what the Bears asked me to do. They talked about me being a great leader, a great locker room guy, but their offer didn’t live up to that. Their offer reflected me hanging out in the locker room and not [playing] any football, like being a coach. That’s a bunch of money, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not what I’m willing to play for the Bears for.’’ Urlacher said he wasn’t surprised at how things have unfolded. He told his agents immediately after the season not to initiate contact with the Bears, wanting the team to make the first move. Then, at the NFL Combine, the Bears requested a meeting and asked his agents to make an offer. They did, proposing a two-year, $11 million deal, but they didn’t hear back for a while. ‘‘I’ve been expecting this for two months,’’ Urlacher said. ‘‘I’m not shocked. It would have been a lot easier if they would have told me after the season, ‘It’s time for us to move on.’ ‘‘I think it was just to save face, honestly. They wanted to say, ‘We tried to sign him back, but he didn’t want to be a Bear anymore.’ ’’ Source: Chicago Sun Times