Chicago Bears Free Agency: Olin Kreutz Era over as Team Signs Chris Spencer

The Olin Kreutz Era in Chicago is officially over.  

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that, according to Lovie Smith, talks broke down with Olin Kreutz and the team has moved on by signing former Seattle Seahawks center Chris Spencer.

At first glance, the 29-year-old Spencer seems like a decent, but not great, option. With few centers on the market, the Bears had very few options to chase.

Looking beyond that first glance, the move is a head-scratcher.

Ranked by Pro Football Focus as the 28th of 34 centers, Spencer is a downgrade in pass blocking from Olin Kreutz without offering a significant increase as a run blocker.

So this begs the question of why the Bears let a player that many feel was owed the respect of the extra $500K he was asking for after 13 seasons as the heart of the Bears offense just walk away for a equal to lesser replacement?

Additionally, as Bears starting safety Chris Harris tweeted:

"

ChrisHarrisNFL: Olin Kreutz departure won't sit well in the locker room for a few days#realtalk

"

Several Bears are tweeting disapproval on this move. The move seems to make little sense for Chicago, other than from a posturing standpoint. If the idea was to upgrade the position, then you would think the Bears would have gone out and found an actual upgrade.

Let's hope this ends up being one of those moves that we look back on and realize was sound in the future. Because it doesn't look smart in the now.