Larry Brown Sports

Brian Urlacher may have become frustrated with the Chicago Bears over his contract situation towards the end of his career, but the eight-time Pro Bowler has decided he does not want to play for any other NFL team. On Wednesday morning, Urlacher announced his retirement with a message on Twitter.

“It was an honor to play my entire career with the Chicago Bears,” he wrote. “After spending a lot of time this spring thinking about my NFL future, I have made a decision to retire. Although I could continue playing, I’m not sure I would bring a level of performance or passion that’s up to my standards. When considering this, along with the fact that I could retire after a 13-year career wearing only one jersey for such a storied franchise, my decision became pretty clear.

“I want to thank all of the people in my life who have helped me along the way. I will miss my teammates, my coaches, and the great Bears fans. I’m proud to say that I gave all of you everything I had every time I took the field. I will miss this great game, but I leave it with no regrets.”

Urlacher will turn 35 later this week, so he is hardly a young man by NFL standards. That being said, he seems like a perfect candidate to pull a Brett Favre at some point during the offseason. He obviously feels that he could continue playing, as evidenced by how insulted he was at the Bears’ offer earlier this offseason.

Back in March, Urlacher said the Bears had made it “not possible” for him to finish his career in Chicago by giving him a “take it or leave it” contract offer. He has obviously had a change of heart, but don’t be surprised if the football itch returns before the 2013 season begins. There will certainly be no shortage of teams vying for the veteran’s services.

Brian Urlacher has been one of the most identifiable Chicago Bears players over the past decade, but he and the team are parting ways and it doesn’t seem to be on good terms.

Urlacher, who will be 35 in May, missed the final four games of the regular season with a hamstring injury. He entered the season with medical problems after having knee surgery. With his body appearing to break down, the Bears didn’t want to give their franchise linebacker more than a one-year deal. Urlacher’s agent was seeking $11.5 million for two years, according to the Chicago Tribune. The team supposedly countered with a one year, $2 million take-it-or-leave-it offer.

“It wasn’t even an offer, it was an ultimatum,” Urlacher told the Tribune. “I feel like I’m a decent football player still. It was insulting, somewhat of a slap in the face.

“They came back with the offer and said, ‘This is what it is, take it or leave it. It was, ‘If you want to play for the Bears, you’ll play for this. If not, then you’re not playing for the Bears.’ ”

Urlacher told the Tribune he would have played for $3 million if the team had kept the negotiation ongoing. He feels like the team didn’t want him back, and he wishes they would have made that clear.

“I want to be here,” Urlacher told the Tribune. “I wanted to be in Chicago. I wanted to finish here. Now that’s not possible.”

Urlacher told the Tribune he won’t hold hard feelings toward the organization despite the failed negotiation. Teammate Roberto Garza says Urlacher is a great player and great leader in the locker room, and that he will be missed.

Urlacher, who is an eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker and the 2005 Defensive Player of the Year, has said he does not plan to retire. He reportedly has received interest from the Dallas Cowboys, and we know he has been in contact with the Minnesota Vikings. If he and his agent leaked the Vikings news to try to scare the Bears into giving their best offer, the strategy did not work.

As an aging player Urlacher is unlikely to get a two-year deal, but he still could help a team for one season. His locker room presence and smarts on the field still makes him a valuable player to have, but he’s just not worth paying a ton of money at this point.

Chicago Bears fans were understandably frustrated after their team lost to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday for the second time this season. At the time being, the Bears are on the outside looking in at the NFC playoff picture. They got off to a 7-1 start this year before losing five out of their last six. During their loss to Green Bay, the boos began raining down at Soldier Field.

In addition, some critics are calling for head coach Lovie Smith to be replaced. Brian Urlacher finds this to be ridiculous.

“Our crowd was pretty good today for the most part,” Urlacher said Sunday during his weekly appearance on Fox Chicago. “They were loud for a minute there. The boos were really loud, which is always nice. The only team in our division to get booed at home is us. It’s unbelievable to me.

“It’s not going to change. If we talk about it, then the media says, ‘You’re blaming the fans for losing. You’re doing this. You’re blaming the refs for losing.’ We lost that football game. Every football game we play in, we lose, it’s nobody’s fault but ours, but we’re allowed to say what we want.”

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When the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers Sunday with the NFC North on the line, linebacker Brian Urlacher will not be playing. The 13-year veteran hurt his hamstring during a Week 13 loss to Seattle, and he is likely to miss the team’s next few games.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers enjoys competing against the best players, so he said he was disappointed Urlacher would not be playing.

“I am disappointed; I like him being out there. I enjoy the competition with him; it’s a competitive rivalry that exists between our teams and between him and I individually,” Rodgers said on his weekly ESPN radio show. “I think he plays the game hard within the rules and he’s a heck of a competitor, who has picked me off a couple too many times. I wish him the best and hope he gets healthy. He has been playing really well this year, that’s impressive to see because he has been around for a while.”

Rodgers’ remarks came as no surprise; he said last year he loved playing against Urlacher.

Rodgers’ tight end, Jermichael Finley, feels differently. He thinks Urlacher’s absence might help Chicago.

“Urlacher is at the end of his career right now; he’s playing a little slow out there,” Finley told FOX Sports Wisconsin on Wednesday. “I don’t think they’re losing too much if he’s out. Putting another guy in might help them a little.”

Finley tried on Thursday to retreat from his inflammatory comments about Urlacher.

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Jay Cutler has been taking some heat over the past few days after it appeared that he swore at Chicago Bears fans on his way to the locker room before halftime of a win over the Carolina Panthers. The Bears offense had played poorly and the fans were booing, so it made sense to think that. Of course, Cutler denied blasting the fans and said he was simply angry with the way he and his teammates played.

But if he was swearing at the fans and letting them know how he felt about their boos, Brian Urlacher would have had no problem with it.

“If the fans want to boo, why can’t we say what we want to say?” Urlacher said on the Waddle and Silvy Show this week. “They’re allowed to say what they want, so can we.”

Urlacher also acknowledged that the fans had every right to boo and that the only way to stop the boos is to play better, so he clearly understands where the fans are coming from. As for the fans being able to say what they want, it’s important to remember that they are paying customers. The players are the ones getting paid.

Your boss may be allowed to say whatever he or she wants in the workplace, but you may not have the same luxury. The money fans pay to get into a game goes toward the players’ paychecks. Fans buy tickets hoping to see a win, but the players are getting paid win or lose. That, to me, gives the fans the right to say whatever they want while the players tune them out.

Helmet knock to Eye on Football

Two games into the regular season is no time to panic, but it’s never too early for a reality check. The Bears can be a playoff team this year if a number of things go their way, but Thursday night’s loss to the Packers proved they have a long way to go. Jay Cutler was abysmal and Chicago’s offensive line was worse. If Brian Urlacher’s comments after the game were any indication, the 23-10 loss may have shaken the Bears confidence a bit.

“Maybe we’re not as good as we thought we were,” a frustrated Urlacher said according to CSNChicago.com. “We’ve got a long ways to go and that’s obvious. Maybe Green Bay’s just that good.”

It could be a combination of both, but something tells me the Bears aren’t as good as they thought they were. Cutler and Brandon Marshall seemed awfully confident headed into this week’s game and both played horribly. The Niners easily handled the Packers last Sunday in Green Bay, so it’s not like they’re an unstoppable force. Marshall, however, doesn’t sound as discouraged as Urlacher.

“We’re definitely as good as we think we are, but offensively we have to do a better job,” he said. “They’re a great team, they won the Super Bowl two years ago, so it’s going to take more than just walking on the field to dethrone them.”

Yes, it certainly is. And talking trash the week before the game is going to do nothing but motivate a team that needed no extra motivation coming off a loss at home in the season opener. If the Cutler and Marshall learned anything on Thursday night, it should be that they need to shut up and do their jobs.

H/T Pro Football Talk

If Brian Urlacher wants to see nude photos of his girlfriend Jenny McCarthy, he doesn’t even have to track down an old Playboy Magazine. Apparently the blonde bombshell sends personal photos to the Bears linebacker. Or, we should say, intends to. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, McCarthy says she recently called her son’s dentist after her son woke up with a sore in his mouth. The doctor told her to take some photos of the abscess and send them to him so he could have a better look, and what he got was a special surprise.

“It’s horrific to remember,” McCarthy said. “Evan woke up and said, ‘There’s this weird thing on my gum.’ … So I called the dentist and said, ‘This is insane.’ He said, ‘Take a picture of it and send it to me’.

“So I’m taking a picture of it and I’m sending it to the dentist and I sent him a nude on accident (sic)! I swear to God! The dentist is, like, 80 years old. I literally screamed at the top of my lungs.”

If the dentist is 80 years old, his life must now be complete. Since we know Hilary Duff has the same hobby as McCarthy, her dentist is off somewhere crossing his fingers as we speak.

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