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Emerging from the fallout of Black Monday, when the Bears parted ways with three veteran starters, is the pressing need for the team to overhaul its wide receiver corps.

Of course, there's also the matter of who will be throwing the ball to the receivers in 2008, but finding players to catch those passes is a top priority and one of the reasons the Bears offered a contract to Bernard Berrian -- a proposal he's said to be less than thrilled with as free agency looms.

''I'm not going to get into any of that,'' agent Drew Rosenhaus said when asked if the Bears' offers to his clients -- Berrian, linebacker Lance Briggs, defensive tackle Tommie Harris and special-teamer Brendon Ayanbadejo -- were serious. ''My negotiations are going to be completely private, and they're not going to involve the media.''


General manager Jerry Angelo is trying to complete the bulk of his free-agent shopping before the market opens at 11 p.m. on Feb. 28. He's expected to meet with agent Eugene Parker as soon as Thursday in Indianapolis to discuss a deal for quarterback Rex Grossman. Angelo isn't promising him a job, and if the team doesn't re-sign Grossman, Kyle Orton is expected to be atop the depth chart this spring.

By cutting wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad, right tackle Fred Miller and defensive tackle Darwin Walker, the Bears created a salary-cap savings of $10,413,440, giving them roughly $30 million in room to re-sign their players. A small portion of that money was earmarked for defensive end Alex Brown, who received a $5 million bonus when he signed a two-year extension Tuesday. The rest of Brown's $15.5 million in new money must be earned in 2010 and 2011.

Bears need helping hands :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears