After 127 straight games, Bears may trade Brown

The Bears' defense could have a drastically different look in 2010.

With recently acquired Julius Peppers anchored at one end, the team now is looking to deal eight-year veteran Alex Brown, who has started every game in six of the last seven seasons at defensive right end.

The Bears have already informed unrestricted free agent Adewale Ogunleye, their starter at left end the past six seasons, that he is not a part of their future.

Mark Anderson and Israel Idonije are expected to compete for the starting spot opposite Peppers if Brown is traded.

The 30-year-old Brown had 6 sacks in three of the past five seasons, 4 1/2 in 2007 and 7 in 2006. The fourth-round pick in 2002 out of Florida has played in every Bears game since Week Two of his rookie season, a total of 127 in a row, the second-longest consecutive-games streak among all NFL defensive linemen.

Brown started all 16 games in five of the last six seasons, but was relegated to backup role in 2007 in a failed experiment to force Anderson into a starting role. While Anderson's 5 sacks that season were one-half more than Brown, Brown's 58 tackles were second among Bears linemen and 22 more than Anderson's 36.

If the Bears are successful in dealing Brown, who has base salaries of $5 million this season and $5.5 million in 2011, Peppers could move to right end permanently, although the Bears have discussed playing him at both ends.

"There are pros and cons with both sides," Bears coach Lovie Smith said at the owners' meetings in Orlando, Fla., earlier this week. "We're keeping our options open with (Peppers). He's played both. We could just lock him into the left and let him go against the (opponent's) worst tackle, the right tackle. But we're going to let him play both. We can try to find ways to get him one on one, which is important for us.

"He really doesn't have a preference. He's had sacks on both sides. I've seen him be dominant on both sides. There are a lot of options he's given us. It might be a good thing to have him on one side and (tackle) Tommie (Harris) opposite him, or two of them together. Who do you double?"

Idonije has bounced back and forth between backup roles at tackle and end since joining the Bears in 2004, bulking up to almost 300 pounds when he played inside and dropping to 270 when he was at end. He had 21/2 sacks last season and has never had more than the 31/2 sacks he had in 2008, but the Bears believe he will benefit from focusing one just one position.

"It's amazing what the guy can do with his body," Smith said in regard to Idonije's ability to gain and lose weight while maintaining the sculpted look of a bodybuilder. "I'd like to see him lock in and be more of a defensive end and see how good he can become."

Anderson, a fifth-round pick out of Alabama in 2006, burst on the scene with 12 sacks as a rookie, playing mostly as a situational pass rusher. But he has never recaptured that knack for the sack, totaling just 91/2 in the next three seasons. He did, however, show glimpses of his old form last season.

"He played better than he was given credit for," Smith said. "We feel comfortable with him. He's been a starter for us in the past."

The Bears also hope to get something from 2009 draft picks Jarron Gilbert and Henry Melton this season. Gilbert, a third-round pick, played very briefly in just four games, and Melton, a fourth-round pick, spent the season on injured reserve.

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<li><a href="/story/?id=368907">LeGere: Bears shopping Alex Brown a bad gamble <span class="date">[03/26/10]</span></a></li>

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