Yesterday marked a milestone in the 2013 NFL free agency period, teams had to declare who would receive the franchise tag and who would be allowed to hit the open market.  In comparison only seven other teams hit players with the extremely restrictive designation.  Only two players that received the tag could have theoretically been targeted by the Bears had they been allowed to hit the open market.

Both of those players were left tackles, Branden Albert of the Kansas City Chiefs and Ryan Clady of the Denver Broncos were kept off the market.  The Bears have been extremely quiet about their free agency plans to this point, but one point they have leaked out, they are  happy with J'Marcus Webb as the starting LT.  Webb deserves to be the starting LT based on his performance for the 2012 season.

The Bears today informed cornerback DJ Moore that he will not be pursued in free agency to return to Chicago for the 2013 season.  Moore was a fourth round draft pick in 2009 NFL draft and developed into an extremely good play maker during his time in Chicago.  

He developed into the starting nickel back and was seen as a key young component of the Bears defense moving forward.  No player made a better impact in the secondary on a per snap basis that D.J. Moore did during the 2011 season.  Moore however found his way to the bench, not for his play rather for his outspoken nature as a player.

We're back at it after a break in the action with another edition of the Bear Report radio podcast.  This week's edition we talked about J'Marcus Webb and his future with the Bears.  We talked about the players that stood out hte most at the NFL combine.  What prospects should the Bears target at the 20th overall selection in the draft?  We also spoke with Russ Lande Scouting Director at the National Football Post to get his feelings on the prospects the Bears were looking at during the combine. 

The 2013 NFL Scouting wrapped up in Indianapolis yesterday after the defensive backs ran their 40-yard dashes and went through their on the field drills.  Overall the first impressions coming out of Indy is overall it was an very uneventful combine with not many newsworthy stories.  Certainly the rest of the NFL draftniks don't see it that way with news about how well the Honey Badger performed or how Manti Te'o didn't perform so well. 

For the Chicago Bears though, there was nothing  that happened amongst the prospects they should be considering with the 20th overall selection in the NFL draft that was of note.  With that in mind let's take a look at some of the prospects that the Bears should be narrowing their list down to.

Second year offensive tackle Gabe Carimi was benched a little over a quarter of the way through the season, in favor of free agent pickup Jonathan Scott.  Scott was cut after a few years unsuccessful years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and then signed by the Bears when it became apparent that Chris Williams was going to be cut. 

Scott came in and was the starter for the final five games of the season at the right tackle spot and now heads to free agency.  The question with Scott now becomes, is he worth retaining or should the Bears do something to upgrade the position?

Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman and GM Phil Emery took to the podium at the NFL combine today to talk about the state of the franchise.  First up to talk today was Trestman who spoke about Urlacher and the progress of player and roster evaluation of the Bears.

The most intriguing quote that came from Trestman was in regards to current defensive end Shea McClellin and where he fits into the Bears defense.

Kellen Davis showed a lot of promise as a player for the Chicago Bears in his limited action.  At one time it was thought that Davis could consistently catch 40 to 50 balls a season and be a very good TE threat for the Bears.  He had shown some solid ability speed good hands and he's a big target that can jump.

This was supposed to be the year the Davis broke out and replaced the production of the departed Greg Olsen.  Instead Davis fell on his face and had an horrible season, a season that should cost him his job after signing a two-year contract extension.

The Chicago Bears have a need in free agency, they need to start to rebuild the offensive line and the perfect place to start would be by signing free agent center Brian de la Puente from the Saints.  The center from New Orleans represents an ideal fit for the Bears for a number of different reasons which I will list here. 

First the Bears have a need at the center position, Roberto Garza is entering the final year of his contract and he'll be 34-years-old in March.  Garza was one of the better offensive linemen on the team in 2012, but that shouldn't matter when considering de la Puente.  The Bears have a right guard problem, Lance Louis is going to be fighting back from reconstructive knee surgery, Garza has experience playing right guard meaning if the Bears grab de la Puente, Garza can slide over. 

Garza sliding back over to right guard while Louis heals next season would provide instant stability to the offensive line at a much needed point in time.  His experience there is invaluable so it would be a favorable position for the Bears to be in while  Louis recovers. 

Next de la Puente is a third-year starting center from the New Orleans Saints who knows Kromer's offense.  He knows Kromer's terminology, the line calls and all of the responsibilities that Garza currently does not know.  This automatically make him a huge upgrade at the position because of his  youth and familiarity with Kromer. 

The most important position on the offensive line is the center position after the offensive tackle spots because they are the anchors of the offensive line with their knowledge and communication needed to get people in the right place.  De La Puente already has this skill from his time with Kromer, which no rookie would have.  The Bears would be foolish to entrust a rookie with this responsibility and Kromer being a third-year player means the Bears could sign him to a long-term deal.

Further, de la Puente graded out as the highest rated center on the free agent market this year with a plus 23.0 rating according to ProFootballFocus.  He only had two games on the season in which he graded out negatively according to their metrics. 

While de la Puente is only a restricted free agent this should not deter the Bears from pursuing him in free agency.  The Saints have the right to match any offer sheet the Bears can offer him, but would not be due any compensation for de la Puente because  he was an undrafted free agent coming out of college.  Teams are not due any compensation for any undrafted players according the parameters laid out by the restricted free agency terms. 

The Bears also would be smart to give de la Puente a strong deal because the New Orleans Saints have the second worst salary cap situation of any team in the NFL.  By giving de la  Puente a strong free agency deal the Bears would have a better chance to pluck him away as a free agent. 

Signing de la Puente would instantaneously allow the Bears to focus on drafting a left guard in the draft.  Two veteran presences to the left and to the right of a rookie left guard position would put that rookie in the best possible position to learn.  Offensive lines are much more stable as a whole if a rookie is targeted at left guard to play next to an experienced center who knows the offensive system. .

Correction:  I was wrong in my assessment about compensation being due undrafted free agents.  If a player is tendered at a first second or third round level and is signed the former team would be due compensation.  

The Chicago Bears face a predicament with Henry Melton that they could have avoided had they worked to sign him to a contract extension at the end of the 2011 season.  Melton's contract value went up because he enjoyed a Pro Bowl season in the final year of his rookie contract.  Now general manager Phil Emery faces the likelihood that he should prepare to sign third year defensive end Corey Wootton to a contract extension to avoid the same problem he now faces with Melton. 

Corey Wootton is headed into the final year of his four year rookie contract at the same trajectory level of Melton.  Wootton struggled with injuries during his first two years in the NFL and had a decent third season in the NFL, call it a break out year.  Wootton took over the starting job and finished the season with eight sacks, eight QB hits and 17 hurries on the season.  With less than 60-percent of the total snaps played Wootton finished no worse than 40th in all the major pass rushing and run defense categories according to profootball focus among 4-3 defensive ends. 

Wootton played at a level that is in the middle of the pack among starting defensive ends who earned more than 60-percent of snaps.  In other words he was more productive with less playing time meaning he could have a breakout year in 2013. 

Entering the 2013 season Wootton will be playing only his second full season fully healthy without injuries.  If he wins the starting job it will be his first full season as a starter, but he could easily surpass double digit sacks and put himself in contention for a Pro Bowl year. 

The price tag for a young Pro Bowl defensive end would be very steep if Wootton were to achieve that level of production in 2013.  What this means is the Bears should move to sign Wootton to a contract extension sooner rather than later. 

With Wootton the Bears don't have to sign him to a four to six year extension right now, they are better off signing him to a two year extension now to coincide with the end of Julius Peppers' six year deal.  By signing Wootton to a two year extension you will likely save a much bigger cap hit at the beginning of the 2014 season.  This would also avoid the potential of having to cut Julius Peppers to give Wootton a big pay day. 

A two-year extension that would come in well below Wootton's future market value at the end of the 2013 season would be solid for both sides.  Reason one, the Bears save money for the next three seasons.  Secondly Wootton will start the 2013 as a 26-year-old defensive end, and could cash in with a lucrative free agent contract before he hits 30 if he's as productive over those next three years as would be expected. 

While most Bears fans scoff at the idea of giving a defensive end who has struggled with injuries the first two years of his a contract extension after one good season, this is where a GM makes  his money.  Wootton proved his potential and his knee can no longer be questioned.  By giving him a modest extension now, you put yourself in the best possible leverage situation.  The Bears don't want to be in a poor leverage situation with a proven defensive end heading into the prime of his career with Julius Peppers and Israel  Idonije heading towards the end of theirs. 

Being a GM requires foresight, it requires focusing on the immediate off-season but also realizing that the time to strike with young players is when you're in the best possible position to save salary cap money.  With the future in mind Chicago Bears GM Phil Emery would be smart to give Wootton a two year contract extension and a pay raise now to avoid a much bigger contract and a loss of leverage situation later.

Digging more into the Bears roster, on players Phil Emery might consider cutting we come to Devin Hester.  The wide receiver has worn out his welcome here in Chicago most recently with his  nonexistent wide receiver play.  Hester had four drops in 54 targets according to Pro Football Focus and has been completely unreliable in a number of other areas. 

Hester’s production as a kick returner dropped off dramatically as he seemed to lose confidence and speed last year.  The explosive element to Hester’s return game seems to have diminished and as a result so has the overall production. 

Combine that with his lack of being able to get open, beat press coverage, or being able to run good routes and the Bears would be smart to cut Hester outright.  Sure you could try and get something in trade for Hester, but he’s not likely to garner much in the trade market, especially if teams think they have a shot at him if he is cut. 

He’s also already expressed his desire to move on and get a fresh start somewhere.  Precisely what level of a fresh start a one-dimensional 30-year-old player thinks he’s going to get remains to be sorted out.  He’s simply not a top level receiver nor is he ever going to be a top level receiver and the Bears have a kick returner on the roster and would be smart to draft a receiver and find one on the free agent receiver on the market. 

It just makes too much sense at this point to target someone else to take Hester’s place.  There needs to be a changing of the guard and more legitimate options added to Jay Cutler’s arsenal.  Hester’s potential definitely doesn’t fit the near term or long term plans of the  Chicago Bears. 

If the Bears cut Hester they would be on the hook for around $833,333 in signing bonus a relatively easy sum of money to swallow.  There is simply a need to add more weapons to the offense and Hester doesn’t fit into any role on the offense no matter what his open field ability looked like at one point in his career.