Lance Briggs to Skip Bears Minicamp

So Lance Briggs is making good on his promise, at least for now. Briggs said he isn't showing up for the Bears minicamp and technically since he isn't under contract he cannot be fined by the team. ESPN has claimed that Briggs has threatened to sit out the first 10 games of the season, play the last six to make his season eligible and then file for free agency again.

I am really surprised the Bears didn't trade Briggs to the Redskins when they had the chance. They could have swapped first rounders and moved all the way up to number 6, but instead elected to keep Briggs. Briggs had a potential deal in place with Washington and is seriously bitter over how Chicago slapped the franchise tag on him.

Now, Chicago has a tough decision to make. A long term deal with the team appears to be as unlikely as ever. Chicago's trade value for Briggs is WAY down now, they should have traded him when they had the chance. Still, that's not to say a deal won't get done with Washington or any other team for that matter. There are still a lot of deals to be made this offseason. Likely with Briggs on his way out (or he'll sit and what good is he to the Bears on the sidelines) and Trent Green having a somewhat similar situation in which he is no longer the QB there and takes on a 7 million salary cap figure. Peterson also dropped the ball here because now they may be forced to release Green and have him sign on with Miami regardless. Yep, its all about timing!

Take care and until next time!