Come To Think Of It: Is Brian Urlacher Done As a Chicago Bear?

Mike Mulligan from the Sun-Times and WSCR-AM hinted at Urlacher being out at the end of the season in a column earlier this week. Urlacher's injury has him out for the season, and he will be 32 next year. While that's not exactly AARP age, it is getting up there for an NFL linebacker.

But would the Bears really cut ties with their most famous player? I say no way. Urlacher is still a valuable contributor to the Bears defense, and prior to his injury, was considered to be in the best shape of his life.

There have always been critics of Urlacher's play.

He doesn't get many sacks or interceptions, so it's always been difficult to determine how well he is playing. Still, the Bears defensive scheme doesn't always favor a speedy guy like Urlacher.

True, he has difficulty shedding blocks. But he did win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2005. Some skeptics and critics, however, consider Urlacher overrated. A 2006 Sports Illustrated poll of 361 NFL players named Urlacher to be the second most overrated player in the league, behind Terrell Owens.

He is signed through 2012. Aside from possibly Lance Briggs, Urlacher is the most valuable player on the Bears defense. Another year older won't likely change that fact.

The Bears propensity to play the Cover-two defense at least one-third of the time hurts Urlacher's stats. He may have slowed down a bit due to age and injury, but he makes up for that with his experience.

So, for anyone who suggests that Urlacher will be playing for a different team next year, tell them that it's un-Bearable to consider a Bears team without Brian Urlacher, come to think of it.