The veterans remaining on the free agent are finally starting to make some noise. As teams enter into offseason workouts and assess holes that still need to be filled, veteran's phones start to ring. Brian Urlacher had a slow start to his free agent life after being released from the Chicago Bears, but it appears he might now be close to landing a team. The veteran linebacker is reportedly leaning towards the Minnesota Vikings as a possible team for 2013.
Urlacher said goodbye to the Chicago Bears after a strong 13-year career with the team. At 34, Urlacher was simply asking for too much money to remain with the team. They were unwilling to give the aging veteran anything greater than a one-year contract after injuries began to plague his production in recent years. Last season, Urlacher played in 12 games, racking up 68 tackles and one interception. Despite only playing 12 games, he still led the team in defense.
Now, the Minnesota Vikings might be the next stop on Urlacher's way to the Hall of Fame. General manager Rick Spielman once said that the team did not anticipate signing Urlacher, but would revisit the situation down the road. The Vikings have been closely monitoring Urlacher and are now reaching out to discuss coming on board.
Urlacher is reportedly considering taking a one or two-year contract from the team. The Vikings did not select a linebacker in one of the early rounds of the draft, opting instead to move Erin Henderson to the middle spot. They selected Gerald Hodges in the fourth round, but signing Urlacher would prevent the team from having to rush to make him a starter. Henderson could return to playing weak-side linebacker and Urlacher could fill the vacancy in the middle.
Due to salary cap purposes, the Vikings would not even consider giving Urlacher a formal contract until after June 1, to prevent him from hitting this year's cap. As he continues to wait around, Urlacher will visit other options. The Denver Broncos have also shown interest in the 8-time Pro Bowler.
It seems Urlacher has accepted the fate that signing a contract with a much lower salary than he originally wanted is in his future. But with a few teams showing interest, he at least has options of where to play in 2013.
