Urlacher expected to attend minicamp

According to a team source and Internet reports, Brian Urlacher will end his boycott of the Bears' off-season activities by attending the mandatory weekend minicamp that begins Friday.

The veteran linebacker thereby avoids a fine of $8,165 and possibly can restart negotiations on the contract extension he is seeking.

Two weeks ago Urlacher told Yahoo! Sports, "I would bet I wouldn't be there," for the three-day minicamp.

He has spent the off-season at his home in Arizona, boycotting the voluntary portions of the off-season program, including workouts and organized team activities.

The Bears have offered Urlacher a one-year extension worth $18 million. It includes a $5 million signing bonus upfront, tacks an additional $1 million onto each of the four remaining years of his current nine-year, $56.65 million deal and adds an additional year at $9 million.

The Bears have been hesitant to negotiate with absent players, and they have not budged from their initial extension offer, but Urlacher's presence this weekend could jump-start talks.

Urlacher was plagued by an arthritic back last season and had postseason neck surgery, but he still led the Bears with 158 tackles and had 5 sacks and 5 interceptions.

He had indicated recently that he might stay away from the team until the start of training camp at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, where players are scheduled to report July 22.

Urlacher has not said if he would attend any of the remaining organized team activities that will take place during the 2ˆ¨ weeks after minicamp.