Chicago Bears Insider: Just How Long Does Brian Urlacher Have Left?

It was great to see just what one of our favorite Bears was able to do last season. After missing just about all of the 2009 season, Urlacher came back like a brand new man and helped lead the Bears defense to a great season and almost into the Super Bowl. He even earned Pro Bowl honors and a second team All-Pro selection as well as NFC player of the month. 

If ever it was a perfect time for Urlacher to get back to his old self, last year was the year. And along with teammates Lance Briggs and Julius Peppers he helped make the Bears defense hard to play against.

But does he have another season like that left in him?

Urlacher was truly the heart and was a big part, if not the biggest part, of the Bear’s defensive success in 2011. It wasn’t just his play that helped the defense but also his leadership on the field as well as his ability to understand and call the plays on the field for the defense. He knows and understands the Chicago defense very well and with this knowledge he is able to help make the defense play that much better.

He will be coming off another full season, his 11th and his body just isn’t like it used to be. Yes, he looked very good last season but he may not be able to withstand too much tough NFL punishment. But Urlacher is very similar to Baltimore’s Ray Lewis. Lewis has been playing in the NFL at a high level since 1996 and there is no reason to think that Urlacher can’t continue playing at a high level for even a few more seasons.

Of course, staying healthy will go a long way to his continued production and longevity on defense and he has had some injury problems over the past few seasons. He did remain healthy last year but his production had slipped (along with his starts) in the 2009 and 2004 seasons but that’s just two seasons out 11. 

So he still has plenty left in the tank.

And the Bears would be lucky to have him last a few more seasons.

There aren’t too many players out there that can be considered long lasting guys. The aforementioned Lewis is one, Bears center Olin Kreutz and long snapper Patrick Mannelly are two others that have played the game for a long time. Lewis is the best example of someone who has been able to play for a long time and still play at a very high level. Urlacher should be able to follow his lead and play in the league very well for a long time still.

The Bears need someone like Urlacher on the team. He’s a leader, he’s been there for a while and understands how things work with the team, the coaching staff and the system and he knows the opponents. His responsibility making the defensive call on the field cannot be underestimated and his leadership on the team is second to none.

And knowing the kind of person he is, Urlacher will be more than willing to play for the Bears for a few more seasons.