Not exactly a landmark decision here

You might have thought a parking garage was replacing the Art Institute.

Or maybe Ernie Banks was declaring himself Mr. Met. Or Oprah was announcing her engagement to Springer. Or the Dan Ryan was being renamed the Meg Ryan.

Seriously, it was like a Chicago landmark was being blasphemed.

I'm talking about the response to defensive end Alex Brown reportedly telling friends, teammates and perhaps TMZ that the Bears intend to trade or release him.

This was worth only a slightly bigger shrug than when safety Danieal Manning last week threatened a contract holdout.

Ah, but Brown is one of the few embraceable Bears. He has been a solid, earnest, dignified pro who treats fans, the media and the game with respect.

So in return Brown is being treated similarly. It's like people are looking into a coffin and saying, "He looks better now than he ever did."

I won't go that far, but I do hope the Bears keep Brown, probably because of his intangibles more than his production. Like, it wasn't unusual to see him near tears at his locker after a Bears' loss.

That's priceless, but it's still difficult to imagine that next season depends on whether Brown is here. More likely it depends on whether the Bears can upgrade his position.

The sentiment for Brown over the weekend is so Chicago sports. We fall in love with athletes who show up to play every game and stand up to questions after every game.

We can't get our fill of them. Scan local radio and television outlets and count the number still drawing paychecks essentially for being who they were.

Anyway, let's not confuse Alex Brown with Walter Payton or Dick Butkus, or with Lance Briggs or Jay Cutler for that matter.

Even if Brown's qualities make him a Halas Hall of Famer he isn't a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Heck, he isn't even an all-pro player.

What we're talking about here is a serviceable player. Serviceable is synonymous with disposable in all sports these days, especially if his salary in the NFL is $5 million.

Look around the league and you'll see teams frequently divorcing players as good as or even better than Brown.

The league doesn't have a salary cap this season, but NFL teams do have self-imposed payroll limitations. Even wealthy owners are resisting the urge to pay for every available free agent.

Fair or not, what the Brown situation does, however, is provide Bears fans with another reason to agonize. Management brought this on themselves by letting the franchise be so mediocre the past three seasons.

Hardly anybody trusts the Bears' player evaluations anymore. Consequently a known quantity like Brown is preferable to his replacement, and doing nothing is preferable to doing something.

With Bears' credibility squandered, few will consider the possibility that they could stumble upon a better option.

Still, there is enough to criticize the Bears about without the Brown-out issue being anywhere close to the top of the list of grievances.

If the Bears do dump Alex Brown it wouldn't exactly be like paving Grant Park.

But it is something else to doubt about the Bears.

mimrem@dailyherald.com