The Monster of the Midway; Brian Urlacher

The contract of 8x Pro Bowler Brian Urlacher is set to expire with Free Agency beginning March 12th. Urlacher who was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 1st round in 2000, has spent all 13 seasons with them. Recently Urlacher has announced that he plans to come back for a 14th season and wants to remain a Chicago Bear until his career is over. The past few seasons for Brian has been tough, suffering back to back late season ending injuries. After the firing of Head Coach Lovie Smith; Familiar faces have been dismissed from the organization and replaced with fresh new faces under new Head Coach Marc Trestman. These handful of changes include a new Offensive Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers Coach, Running Backs Coach, etc. With these big changes happening in Chicago, nobody is sure if these changes include bringing back Brian Urlacher.

"Lance Briggs has spoken out about Urlacher saying “I hope he’s back. I hope the organization does the right thing and they bring him back.”"

Oct 22, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears linebackers Brian Urlacher (54) and Lance Briggs (55) gesture before a snap during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Lance Briggs who has spent 9 seasons with the Chicago Bears knows exactly how important Brian Urlacher is to this team. The middle linebacker who started the 2012 season off shaky, slowly started to find his rhythm before being sidelined with a hamstring injury. The Captain of the Defense finished the season with 68 total tackles, 8 assists, 1 int (returned for a 46 yard touchdown in Week 9 vs the Tennessee Titans) and 1 forced fumble. The question being asked right now is, will Brian Urlacher will take a pay cut to be brought back? He signed a 5 year / $40 million dollar deal with a $6 million dollar bonus (which I think was for his head, I love the man but he has a massive dome) before the 2008 season. So will Urlacher be willing to take maybe almost half of that for a few years so he can put that Chicago Bears uniform again? Or will he refuse a smaller deal and move on? The dust will settle before or after March 12th, but if Brian Urlacher happens to move on, Phil Emery better work on a replacement. Whatever they may choose, Brian Urlacher has truly proven himself to be ‘The Monster of the Midway.’