Briggs, Bears near deal
Teammate says LB will sign, be at camp

By David Haugh
Tribune staff reporter

July 25, 2007, 12:51 AM CDT


One of the biggest questions facing the Bears all off-season has been when linebacker Lance Briggs will end his holdout from training camp.

Maybe it won't even begin.



There were strong indications Tuesday night the two sides either were coming close to an agreement that would end a messy contract dispute or had solved it altogether.

Reached on his cell phone, Briggs said "no comment" when asked if he had agreed to sign the one-year contract tender worth a guaranteed $7.2 million and report on time Thursday to the start of training camp in Bourbonnais.

But earlier in the night a Bears teammate who had spoken with both Briggs and a league source said the linebacker had agreed to sign the deal and avoid a holdout the Bears had been dreading.

Asked about the rumors Briggs had agreed to sign the contract and report on time, the player said, "True."

Efforts to reach his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, were unsuccessful.

Rosenhaus and the Bears have continued to speak even after the July 16 deadline to work out a long-term deal for franchise players passed. After a visit to Halas Hall last month, Rosenhaus said he had presented some creative proposals to the team.

Among them were believed to be the possibility of paying Briggs a large portion of the $7.2 million up front, which would serve as a smaller signing bonus. The Bears also have offered to rescind the franchise tag on Briggs for 2008 if he agrees to end the impasse and begin what they believe can be a Super Bowl season.

A team source said it would be fair to say recent discussions left many in the organization hopeful a resolution could be reached in time for the start of camp.

It has been a busy month of planning ahead for the Bears. Locking up cornerback Charles Tillman to a six-year extension Tuesday came weeks after signing an extension with cornerback Nathan Vasher.

The Bears probably didn't envision making that type of commitment to one position group, but when Briggs turned down a long-term contract offer in 2006, the team said it was moving on to other core players.

Asked about Briggs during a teleconference, Tillman said, "I'm going to miss him."

Perhaps it won't be as long as he thinks.

Sorry for the double post I didn't see this in the Tillman section until already posted.

Duh. Everyone knows you go to the Tillman thread for Briggs news...

_________________

It's official, according to the Cheeto-Headed Loon. Briggs agrees to the franchise terms.

_________________
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/