Bears sign free agent linebacker Hayes
Depth at linebacker no longer is much of concern for the Bears after team officials agreed to terms on a one-year contract with veteran unrestricted free agent Geno Hayes Thursday afternoon.
Hayes was drafted in the sixth-round (175th overall) out of Florida State by the Bucs in 2008 and has started 42 games at weak-side linebacker over the past four seasons and played in all 56. He is expected to compete with incumbent Nick Roach for the starting spot.
Hayes is undersized at 6-foot-1 and 226 pounds, but he’s a good fit in the Bears’ defense, which puts more emphasis on speed than bulk. Since 2008, Hayes has 29½ stuffs — a tackle of a rusher for negative yards — the second most in the NFL over that time, according to STATS Inc. He led the league with 11 stuffs in 2009 and finished tied for second with 11½ in 2010.
Last season Hayes started 13 games played and was third on the Bucs with 86 tackles and 7 tackles for losses, while adding 1 interception and 2 forced fumbles.
The Bears also announced the release of wide receiver Max Komar, who appeared in two games last season after spending 10 weeks on the practice squad.