Will Taylor be Bears starting RB?
No one's saying that the signing of unrestricted free agent Chester Taylor means that he'll replace 2008 second-round draft choice Matt Forte as the Bears' featured runner.
But no one's saying it won't happen, either.
"Chester Taylor was a real good fit, and we brought Chester in because we wanted to bring in another quality back," Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said. "It's nothing to do with any pecking order. The players always determine that, as well as the coaches."
Friday the Bears gave the former Viking a $12.5 million contract over four years with $7 million guaranteed. But they didn't guarantee him playing time.
"They didn't explain anything," Taylor said. "I mean, we're both running backs, we both compete. We'll just go out there and compete and just help our team the best way we can."
Forte produced an impressive rookie season with 1,238 rushing yards on 316 carries, along with 63 receptions for 477 yards. But last season he slumped to 929 yards on 258 carries and a disappointing 3.6 yards per carry, although he still caught 57 passes for 471 yards.
Taylor, 30, has averaged 4.3 yards per carry over his eight-year career, and he caught 89 passes over the previous two seasons with the Vikings. Taylor is much more attractive than most running backs his age because he's carried the ball just 352 times over the past three seasons while backing up Adrian Peterson in Minnesota.
"I do believe it takes a toll on you," Taylor said of being a featured runner. "Fortunately I've had someone like Adrian in front of me, so I wouldn't have to take that pounding. So now I'm just going go out there and give it all I got."
Tight end Brandon Manumaleuna was the first of the Bears' three unrestricted free agents to agree to terms Friday. He signed a five-year contract with $6 million guaranteed and a potential total value of $17 million.
Manumaleuna played five years in St. Louis (2001-05) under Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz when he was the Rams' head coach, so he's familiar with his offense and personality.
"He's real meticulous when it comes to details of how you run plays, especially in the passing game," said the 6-foot-2, 295-pound Manumaleuna, whose primary role will be as a blocker. He's real meticulous when he's helping hone the skills of the quarterback. He's real focused on details, so I think he'll add a lot of discipline. Not that there wasn't any before, but he'll bring more discipline to the offensive group."
Martz has a reputation for not involving his tight ends in the passing game, which has caused incumbent Greg Olsen some consternation. Manumaleuna caught 29 passes for 238 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2003, but he has not had more than 15 receptions or more than 174 receiving yards in any season since then, and he had just 5 catches for 13 yards last season with the Chargers.
Manumaleuna was asked if Martz did ignore the tight end in his offense.
After a long pause, the nine-year veteran said: "Sometimes. When I was in St. Louis, you have to understand the people that were outside of me (prodigious wide receivers Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce). So when people say I was being ignored, it wasn't really being ignored. It was more throwing to two Pro Bowl receivers and you had a Pro Bowl running back (Marshall Faulk) coming out of the backfield.
"I wouldn't say it was a lack of using the tight ends, but more so using your Hall of Fame players."