Chicago Bears: Lance Briggs Wants His Cookies, but Not with the Bears
Published by Kyle Symes on September 2, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Give a mouse a cookie and Lance Briggs will want a glass of milk.
Instead of focusing on their home opener against the Atlanta Falcons, the Chicago Bears have to focus on dealing with Briggs’ nagging.
Like the kid who just bought a new toy and tossed it after five minutes of playing with it, Briggs wants more.
After requesting and receiving a new contract in 2008, the linebacker is now requesting a trade after not receiving another pay raise.
Briggs has come out and said: “I’m 100 percent a Bear, until I’m not a Bear anymore.”
However, his request for a trade has made him not a Bear, even if he wears the uniform on the field.
Instead of being a leader, something that is needed in that locker room following Olin Kreutz’s departure, Briggs has brought unwanted media attention to the team. How can the team trust him on the field, knowing that he could soon be on a plane and taking his talents elsewhere?
What are the Bears’ options?
If you slide into GM Jerry Angelo’s shoes, one can see two options available.
The most obvious response would be to give Briggs what he wants and keep him in Chicago. After all, he is considered one of the better outside linebackers (in a 4-3 scheme) in the league.
However, if you pay him, that leaves the door open for every other player that feels underpaid to come out through the media and request a raise or a trade.
It also would put more added pressure on the Bears to finalize a deal with Forte, which by far has to be the top priority for the organization at the moment.
So, if they can’t pay him, they have to trade him?
This option is the better of the two.
Briggs does not want to be in Chicago, so the Bears might as well get someone who does want to be on the field. That being said, getting fair compensation in return is something Angelo is not known for.
Angelo basically traded the farm for Jay Cutler and got a third-round pick for Greg Olsen, who the Bears had spent a first-round selection on.
Angelo has been under constant criticism from Bears fans over his questionable moves and he certainly needs to get something in return for Briggs to save face with them.
More than likely, the Bears will receive draft picks as compensation in a Briggs trade since player-for-player deals are rare in the NFL. However, if the Bears do receive a player, that player needs to be someone who can step in right away and fill the big shoes that Briggs will leave behind.
If they receive draft picks, as expected, the draft selections better be on the defensive side of the ball.
If not, Angelo may be the one asking for a trade, following a backlash from Bears fans.
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