Bears GM Jerry Angelo say down with Larry Mayer from the Bears website to talk about a few offseason issues facing the team and gave a good idea of what the Bears are thinking.  I’ll re-post the questions here, then talk about some of the answers.

LM: After the 2008 season ended, you said that you believed in Kyle Orton and liked some of the things he did, but you needed to see more before anointing him the long-term solution at the position. You also indicated that the Bears were fixated on getting the quarterback position stabilized. With all that in mind, why are the Bears seemingly not interested in pursuing a veteran in free agency or via a trade?

Yeah, what gives Jer?  There are certainly plenty of quarterbacks out there that the Bears could try and bring in to compete with Neckbeard for the top spot, but the Bears have seemingly been idle.  Angelo said he didn’t want to hurt the progress of Orton like they did last year with him and Rex competing for the job.  Understandable, as a guy competing for the job would steal reps from Orton, but if the guy, whether it be Simms, Leftwich, or anyone else, is better than Orton, isn’t that worth the lack of reps? For what it’s worth, Angelo said they could look for a veteran back-up after the draft.  Woo!

LM: Why haven’t the Bears tried to sign any of this year’s big-name free agents such as wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh or safety Brian Dawkins, both of whom are productive veterans who seemingly would provide major upgrades?

Money.  That was Angelo’s answer in a nutshell.  The Bears didn’t want to shell out the money for a guy like T.J. at the top of his market, or to an aging Brian Dawkins.  Dawkins I understand, but you’re going to have to spend money to upgrade at wide receiver.  Angelo said Seattle’s situation was different in that they had an “inordinate amount of injuries with their wide receivers” and were looking for someone healthy and stable.  Umm, what?  Well, the Bears have an inordinate amount of suck with their wide receivers, let’s address that.  The more you read this, the more you get the feeling Angelo is the kind of guy that steals the butter from the dish at restaurants.

LM: How much of a priority is upgrading the wide receiver position either in free agency or the draft?

Angelo says they have guys they like as “twos, threes, fours and fives, and if we carried six, a sixth receiver.”  Translation: one two, three fours, and a couple five or sixes.  He says they’re in the market for a number one receiver and will likely pursue it through the draft.  You hear that first round mock drafters?  He also said that they would look at premium receivers available through free agency too, but umm…referencing the last question, I don’t think that’ll happen.  They cost money you know.

h/t: Chicago Bears and Judd!

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Tags: Brian Dawkins, Cheap, Chicago Bears, Jerry Angelo, Kyle Orton, NFL, TJ Houshmandzadeh