The Chicago Bears have announced that they were unable to reach agreement on a new contract with longtime middle linebacker Brian Urlacher and that both sides will move forward in 2013.
"We were unable to reach an agreement with Brian and both sides have decided to move forward," general manager Phil Emery said in a statement released by the team. "Brian has been an elite player in our league for over a decade. He showed great leadership and helped develop a winning culture over his time with the Bears. We appreciate all he has given our team, on and off the field. Brian will always be welcome as a member of the Bears."
Urlacher, who turns 35 in May, has been with the Bears since he was selected with the ninth overall pick of the 2000 NFL draft. Over the last 13 seasons, Urlacher has over 1,300 tackles with 41.5 sacks and 22 interceptions, including two he returned for touchdowns. The 6-foot-4, 258-pound Urlacher went to eight Pro Bowls, was named to five All-Pro teams and was voted the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 2005.
"Over the last 13 years, Brian Urlacher has been an outstanding player, teammate, leader and face of our franchise," said Bears chairman George H. McCaskey. "As Bears fans, we have been lucky to have such a humble superstar represent our city. He embodies the same characteristics displayed by the Bears all-time greats who played before him and he will eventually join many of them in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We thank Brian for all he has given our team and our city. He will always be a part of the Bears family. We wish him the very best."
Urlacher injured his left knee late in the 2011 season and ended up missing most of last season's training camp. Urlacher missed the final four games of the 2012 season with a hamstring injury.
Despite Urlacher's age, recent injury woes and the team's offseason coaching change from Lovie Smith to Marc Trestman, the Bears had not ruled out bringing the veteran back. Earlier on Wednesday, Trestman discussed Urlacher's future with the team during the NFC coach's breakfast at the owner's meetings in Phoenix, Arizona.
Via the Chicago Sun-Times:
"We evaluated Brian and we think he can help our football team -- no doubt about it, we do. " Trestman said Wednesday during the NFC coaches breakfast during the NFL annual meetings at the Arizona Biltmore."[But] that's the coaching side of it. The coaching side is that we've made an evaluation and feel good about having Brian back. Not just from a locker-room perspective, but as a player on a football team.
"We've established that as a staff and then the rest is the process, the collective process of what is best for the Bears. There is a lot that goes into that. There's more to it than just the football side. There's a lot that goes into it. That's the best interests of the Bears. That's where we are. "
With the Bears moving on without Urlacher, and losing versatile backup Nick Roach to the Oakland Raiders in free agency, Blake Costanzo, one of the best special teams players in the league, is penciled in as the starting middle linebacker.

Tim Tebow found New York to be a cold, cold place. (Adam Hunger / Reuters)

A little over a year after he arrived in New York to great fanfare, the New York Jets have released Tim Tebow.

The New York Post’s Brian Costello reported the news, which came on the day players, including starter Mark Sanchez, were expected to arrive in Florham Park, N.J., for workouts. Although Sanchez struggled last season, Tebow, the often-polarizing quarterback, could never get onto the field with the Jets, even though he led the 2011 Denver Broncos to a playoff victory at the height of Tebowmania. The Tebow era ends with him participating in only 72 offensive snaps with the Jets.

“We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow,” Coach Rex Ryan said (via ESPN New York’s Rich Cimini). “Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped. Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason. We wish him the best moving forward.”



The Heisman Trophy winner, who led Florida to two national championships, has been working out at the Jets’ facility and was already in workout clothes when he was summoned to the office of General Manager John Idzik this morning, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports. He’ll hit the waiver wire at 4 p.m.
On Friday, the Jets made it clear that they were going in another direction by taking West Virginia’s Geno Smith in the second round of the NFL draft. He was the sixth QB on their roster (along with Greg McElroy, David Garrard and Matt Simms).

Tebow, speaking in Fort Worth on Sunday night, was asked about his future and said that he is “a member of the New York Jets.” He said that, the Star-Telegram’s Charean Williams reported, with a smile.

The Tebow experiment, heralded with an enormous press conference in March 2012, ended up costing the Jets a fourth-round draft pick and $1.5 million in salary, along with $2.5 million the team had to pay the Broncos.

What happens now for Tebow? The Jets have tried with no luck since the season ended to find a trade partner for him, and although Tebow repeatedly has stated that he is a quarterback, he may have to switch positions if he is to stay in the league.

Jets had granted Tim Tebow permission this off-season to seek a trade. More than one team asked if were willing to play TE, but he was not.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2013

Since entering NFL in 2010, Tim Tebow has NFL-worst 47.9 comp pct. Last player w/ sub-48 comp pct in 1st 3 seasons? Akili Smith 1999-01
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 29, 2013