Bears trade S. Kevin Payne to Rams for draft pick

Faced with a logjam of contenders at both safety positions, the Bears thinned their ranks a bit Wednesday afternoon by trading fourth-year player Kevin Payne to the St. Louis Rams for a conditional draft pick in 2011.

After using their top draft pick last weekend to take Florida safety Major Wright in the third round (75th overall) and trading for Carolina Panthers strong safety Chris Harris on Monday, the Bears had seven safeties on the roster. All of them except the rookie have started for the Bears in the past.

Payne started 22 times for the Bears, six at free safety and 16 at strong safety. Sixteen of his starts came in 2008, when he led the Bears with 4 interceptions and was second to linebacker Lance Briggs with 129 tackles.

Payne appeared to fall out of favor last season after getting benched following his opening day start at free safety. But the 6-foot, 212-pounder returned late in the season to start four games at strong safety.

Payne, 26, was originally drafted by the Bears in the fifth round (167th overall) in 2007 out of Louisiana-Monroe.