Lance Briggs: Latest News, Rumors and Speculation Surrounding Free-Agent LB
Published by Joseph Zucker on March 5, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Lance Briggs is a free-agent-to-be, and the linebacker will be looking for a new home, as the Chicago Bears reportedly don’t plan on bringing the defensive star back in 2015.
Continue for updates.
Briggs Reportedly Done in Chicago
Thursday, March 5
Briggs’ NFL career may not be over just yet, but it’s reportedly over in Chicago.
Jen Lada of CSN Chicago reported that Briggs won’t be returning to the Bears for next season as the linebacker explores free agency.
Briggs spent his first 12 years in the league with the Bears, appearing in 173 games with the franchise.
He talked about his time with the team on The Lance Briggs Show back on Dec. 23, via the Chicago Tribune:
I think we had a great ride together, and I think that I got out as much or more from you as you guys got out from me and [Charles Tillman] and all of us along this ride. This whole year has been a bittersweet year because coming into the year I knew that this was going to be it, and I just really, more than anything, I wanted to not let anything take the smile away. And it’s been probably the roughest season that I’ve had as a Chicago Bear, but I don’t regret being here, I don’t regret signing any of the deals that kept me here and allowed me to be here because I know I bleed blue and orange and will always.
After making seven straight Pro Bowls from 2005 to 2011, Briggs continued playing at a high level in 2012, as he led the Bears in tackles. Then, he fractured his shoulder in October 2013, which limited him to nine games that year. He appeared in only eight games this past year, which ended with him landing on injured reserve.
Most expected Briggs’ time as a Bear to be over, with the larger question being whether he has any future whatsoever in the NFL.
How many teams are going to take a chance on a 34-year-old linebacker who’s missed 15 games over the last two years?
The Green Bay Packers‘ signing of Julius Peppers was met with a lot of skepticism, but Peppers wound up contributing seven sacks and two pick-sixes in the regular season.
Briggs and Peppers aren’t the same type of player, and Peppers didn’t deal with injuries during his final few seasons in Chicago. But Peppers is just the most recent example of an aging veteran moving to new surroundings and finding the fountain of youth.
It happens every year with one or two players.
Wherever Briggs goes next—he won’t be burdened too much with expectations, nor will he command much of the salary cap. In the right defense, Briggs might have one or two good years left in the tank.
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