Teams can’t officially sign free agents until 4pm ET on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot during this league mandated tampering window. It appears that the Chicago Bears are fully prepared to make one of the biggest splashes in free agency immediately after it starts.
According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune the Bears are expected to make an initial run at the Seattle Seahawk free agent and expect to be able to sign him during the earliest hours of the new league year. Bennett recorded 8.5 sacks for the defending champions last year and it was assumed that Seattle would be in the drivers seat to retain his services, especially after it released Red Bryant and Sidney Rice earlier this month to make room under the salary cap.
If Bennett does indeed land with the Bears, he would team up with his brother Martellus, who shined in his first year as Chicago’s starting tight end last season. The common perception is that Bennett would end up starting opposite veteran defensive end Julius Peppers. But there remains a decent possibility that Chicago’s interest in Bennett could be as a replacement for Peppers, who has a cap hit of over $18 million in 2014.
Photo: Steven Bisig, USA Today