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Bears waste no time matching Packers' offer to Fuller

Well, that didn't take long.

Hours after it was reported that the Green Bay Packers had signed Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller to an offer sheet, the Bears quickly matched it, keeping him in the fold.

The terms of the deal: four years, $56 million (with $18 million guaranteed).

After the Bears had placed the seldom-used transition tag on Fuller - instead of the more widely used franchise tag - it opened the door for another team to sign him to a long-term contract, with the Bears given five days to match.

They didn't even take five hours. General manager Ryan Pace appeared to play this situation perfectly, and one could argue that new Packers GM Brian Gutekunst didn't do nearly enough to dissuade the Bears from matching it. The transition tag had the Bears already on the hook for a $13 million (an average of the top 10 salaries at the position), as opposed to $2 million more for the franchise.

So with only $18 million of Fuller's offer sheet with the Packers coming in guaranteed money, it was a no-brainer. The Bears in essence paid an additional $5 million (and avoided negotiating with him) for what amounts to a two-year contract. If Fuller doesn't live up to the money at that point, the Bears likely can get out from under the deal while paying relatively affordable money for a player they view as their top corner.

Fuller rejoins recently re-signed Prince Amukamara in what could be a solid secondary next season, especially with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio back calling the shots for new head coach Matt Nagy. Although Fuller played poorly enough entering last season that they refused to pick up his fifth-year option for 2018, he rebounded in a big way in 2017 and earned long-term money a year ahead of many other first-round picks from the 2014 draft class.

Trying to turn things around:

Outside linebacker Aaron Lynch feels he's in the perfect place to resurrect a career that has fallen on hard times.

The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Lynch signed a one-year deal with the Bears after spending his first four years with the 49ers, who drafted him in the fifth round out of South Florida in 2014. As a rookie, Lynch had six sacks as a situational pass rusher in the scheme of Vic Fangio, who is now the Bears' defensive coordinator.

Lynch had 6½ sacks in 2015 in 13 starts, and his two-year totals included 22 tackles for loss, 35 QB hits and 7 pass breakups. But in the past two years, he's played just 14 games with a total of 2½ sacks.

But reuniting with Fangio could be just what Lynch needs to become the pass rusher he was. Having just turned 25 last week, he could make it work with his new team and his old coach on a deal that could pay him up to $6 million.

"He was a huge part of my rookie year," Lynch said of Fangio. "He was a great mentor to me.

"It's a perfect position for me to be in (now). It was an important position for me, to be with somebody familiar like Vic. He's the one that gave me a chance early in my career, and I did pretty well, succeeded pretty well and our defense (did, too). To rejuvenate my career and play on this team is going to be fun."

Other additions:

The Bears on Friday added No. 3 QB Tyler Bray, another backup with experience in coach Matt Nagy's offense from their five seasons together in Kansas City.

The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Bray is an unknown commodity as a player, since he has thrown just one pass, an incompletion, is his career and has played just four snaps.

The Bears also re-signed tight end Daniel Brown, a restricted free agent who became unrestricted when he was not tendered a contract before the start of free agency.

The 6-foot-5, 243-pound three-year veteran spent the previous two seasons with the Bears, playing in 22 games and starting five times when the offense opened with multiple tight ends. As a Bear, Brown has 29 receptions for 253 yards (8.7-yard average) and one touchdown.

• ProFootballWeekly's Eric Edholm contributed to this report

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