Chicago Bears Insider: Bears Release 3 Veterans
Published by Bryan Dietzler on February 28, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Bears released three veteran players on Monday in an effort to clear some roster space and perhaps some money off of their books for 2011.
Those players released include defensive tackle Tommie Harris, linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer and offensive tackle Kevin Schaffer.
Harris came to the Bears as first-round draft pick in 2004 and started right away. He ended his career with the Bears having played in 104 games with 90 starts. He had a total of 213 tackles with 169 solo and 44 assisted tackles. He had 28.5 sacks, five passes defended, one interception and five forced fumbles.
Harris was selected to three Pro Bowls and was named second team All-Pro. He was released even though he had some time left on his contract and the biggest reason why he was released is because he had become ineffective over the past two or three seasons. He was no longer worth the amount of money that the team was paying him.
His problems stem from injuries that he has suffered earlier on in his career, injuries that he seemed to struggle to get back in shape from and be an effective contributor. He also had some personal issues and landed in the coach’s doghouse a couple of times.
Hunter Hillenmeyer was an effective backup at the linebacker position for the Bears, but missed almost all of the 2010 season due to symptoms suffered from a concussion. He came to Chicago in 2003 after being cut by the Green Bay Packers.
Hillenmeyer has played in a total of 101 games with 69 starts. He recorded 382 total tackles with 288 solo and 94 assisted. He had seven sacks, 12 passes defended, two interceptions and seven forced fumbles.
Hillenmeyer’s problems with concussions may have forced the Bears to let him go and look for some help somewhere else. The only problem is, he was very good as a backup with the Bears and knows the system well so losing him will hurt. Hopefully the Bears will be able to find someone to replace him and be as good of a backup as he was when he played.
Shaffer struggled during his time with the Bears and his release shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. In fact, it should be encouraging because it means that the Bears are making room for someone at the offensive tackle position.
Shaffer came to Chicago in 2009 as a free agent and played in 32 games with seven starts. As mentioned, he wasn’t that effective for the most part. This loss shouldn’t affect the Bears that much and should help much more than it hurts.
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