2012 NFL Free Agency: 7 Free Agents the Chicago Bears Must Throw Money at

With the draft already the talk of the town in Chicago with the Bears watching the NFL playoffs from home, free agency will be here first and is arguably more important to the short-term success of the Bears.

With a as-yet-to-be-named GM making the calls this year, excitement is running high to see what changes will be made to the Bears acquisition style.

The Bears were one injured quarterback (or one decent backup quarterback) away from the playoffs in 2011, so minor tweaks are more in order than total overhaul.  

Yet one could argue that the Injury to Jay Cutler made evident the lack of talent at the skill positions in Chicago, as well as exposing some serious holes on the defensive side of the ball.

Ahead, we'll look at several free agents who best fit the Bears scheme and their holes that would close the talent gap between Chicago and rivals Green Bay and Detroit.

Dan Connor: Linebacker

The Panthers are going to have issues paying Connor after the year he had filling in for Jon Beason. He won't command top dollar, but he will demand more money that the Panthers will likely be willing to pay for a fourth linebacker.

Enter Chicago. Connor would be a fantastic option to start at strong side linebacker and would give the Bears insurance against an Urlacher injury or eventual retirement. 

Grabbing up an immediate upgrade to the strong side is good enough to warrant bringing him in. But ensuring that 2009 doesn't happen again makes this an essential pickup.

Cortland Finnegan: Cornerback

Many will balk at a guy like Finnegan being a Bear. But Finnegan is among the best free agents on the market for Chicago's scheme. He may have a "dirty" reputation, but so what?

He gets under the skin and in the heads of opposing receivers, and in a division that includes Calvin Johnson, Greg Jennings and Percy Harvin, it isn't a bad thing to have that opposing receiver thinking about something other than catching the ball.

Finnegan would be a perfect fit in the Windy City.

Demetrius Bell: Left Tackle

J'Marcus Webb was supposed to be three years away from seeing the field when he was drafted. Two years later he has two years of starting experience under his belt. And while he's shown improvement, what he's given the Bears hasn't been enough, just yet.

Bell is a solid left tackle who could solidify the position for quite a while, but has enough veteran experience to help settle down the line.

Many fans are calling for first and second-day linemen in the draft, but adding more youth to an already very young line is a mistake. This line needs an infusion of veteran talent, not another young developing player.

And Bell is the best tackle entering free agency, making him a priority target for Chicago.

Dwayne Bowe: Wide Receiver

Despite some early maturity issues, Dwayne Bowe has blossomed into the true top receiver he was envisioned to be.  

Bowe is a big physical presence who will fight for the ball and isn't afraid of the footsteps. He's not the best with the ball after the catch and he has had issues with drops, but he is the type of large receiver that the Bears have been missing.

Robert Mathis: Defensive End

The Bears are sorely in need of a someone who can take advantage of the attention Julius Peppers gets from opposing offenses and create a little havoc in the backfield.

Robert Mathis has been doing just that for years.  

Mathis has built a career off of penalizing offensive coordinators for shifting too much attention towards fellow defensive end Dwight Freeney to the tune of 80 sacks over the last eight years.

Want to improve the Bears secondary immediately? Bring in Robert Mathis and stop allowing Aaron Rodgers to have seven seconds to read the field.

Brent Grimes: Cornerback

Brent Grimes might be the most underrated corner in the league, and Chicago should absolutely bring his services to the Second City.

Grimes finished the season allowing only 44.6 percent of the targets thrown his way to be caught and allowing opposing quarterbacks only a 62.9 quarterback rating.

Pro Football Focus has Grimes graded out as the second overall corner in the league behind only Darrelle Revis.

Making him even more valuable to the Bears is that he's good in run support and rarely misses tackles.

Marques Colston: Wide Receiver

Colston, when he's on the field, is one of the most dangerous receivers in the league. The Bears need some of that.

The problem with Colston is that he spends a lot of time injured. But that could work into Chicago's favor as it could serve to lower his price, especially with so many big name receivers hitting the market in 2012.

But Colston is such a reliable target that if the Bears have to shell out big bucks to get him, they should. Colston finished the season second only to Hines Ward among receivers with more than 32 targets with 76.2 catch percentage while dropping only two of his 108 targets.

Colston has been a beast for Drew Brees, and the Saints have been a far better team with him on the field. Chicago would be, too.