On Sunday, the Chicago Bears signed safety Brandon Meriweather, formerly of the New England Patriots.
Meriweather, 27, is a two-time Pro Bowler who had 68 tackles and three interceptions last year. He's athletic and big, and has played at a high level on a good team for the last few years. He's a good player joining a good defense.
Which is why this makes no sense.
Bears GM Jerry Angelo has done a wonderful job of wasting money over the last few years, spending on anything and everything except fieldturf at Soldier Field. He gave multi-year deals to a running back (Chester Taylor) and tight end (Brandon Manumaluena) last summer, and then cut them both and signed replacements (Marion Barber and Matt Spaeth) this summer.
One of the key players in the second half of last year was safety Chris Harris, who was obviously missed the last time the Bears let him get away as a free agent. Putting Meriweather next to Harris would give the Bears a dynamic secondary for the first time since Mark Carrier was knocking people into Tuesday afternoon.
Using logic spits on the face of almost everything Angelo has done over the last few years (Julius Peppers is the rare exception). In fact, adding a player in his prime contradicts what Angelo usually does; ask anyone in Dallas and there are questions about how much Barber has left.
And while Angelo may have done a good job adding a Pro Bowl safety to the roster, he has two Pro Bowl players on his roster - Matt Forte and Lance Briggs - that are still waiting for a new deal... which Angelo has been too cheap/stupid to give them.
So what gives, Jerry?
Meriweather should replace Major Wright on the field immediately. Wright has been an overwhelming disappointment, from promoting an adult entertainment convention early in the lockout to missing more tackles than he's completed during the preseason.
Which could present a very unique situation for the Bears defense.
Consider the tight ends the Bears will face this year:
Week One: Tony Gonzalez
Week Three: Jermichael Finley
Week Four: Greg Olsen/Jeremy Shockey
Week Five: Brandon Pettigrew
Week Six: Visanthe Shiancoe
Week Nine: Brent Celek
Week Ten: Pettigrew
Week Eleven: Antonio Gates
Week Thirteen: Tony Moeaki
Week Fifteen: Zach Miller
Week Sixteen: Finley
Week Seventeen: Shiancoe
By my count, that's 12 games on the Bears calendar where a tight end will be part of an offense that isn't going to line them up in a conventional manner. Is there a possibility that the Bears look at Wright as a potential nickel back against these teams with more athletic tight ends? Wright, Corey Graham and Zack Bowman are all right around six feet tall, but Wright has better size; he's listed at almost ten pounds heavier than the other two natural corners.
However it works out, the Bears added a pretty good safety to their roster on Sunday.
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