Bears Blitz

Published by Michael Gibbons on March 28, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

It looks like the Chicago Bears have added another wide receiver to the mix. What his addition means to the team is now the question.

LM: #Bears have agreed to terms with WR Devin Thomas on one-year deal.

— ChicagoBears.com (@ChicagoBearscom) March 29, 2012

You may remember Devin Thomas as the player who recovered the fumble in overtime of the NFC Championship game, which sent the Giants to the Super Bowl. He actually recovered both of Kyle Williams’ fumbles in that game.

Thomas, who was drafted in the second round by the Redskins in the 2008 draft, hasn’t really done much as a wide receiver in the league. However, as you can tell, he has made a bit of a name for himself as a special teams player.

For his career, he has 43 catches for 482 yards and three touchdowns. The Bears will be his fourth team. He was waived by the Redskins during the 2010 season and was then claimed by the Carolina Panthers for five games before being released again.

Thomas is the second special teams/receiver the Bears have added. The first was Eric Weems. 

While Weems was brought in to be a back up to Devin Hester, Thomas is probably expected to fill the role that Sam Hurd played last year.

At 6’2″, he provides another big target for Jay Cutler when he is actually on the field offensively. A fun fact is that he didn’t catch a single pass during the 2010 season.

My guess is that this may mean the Bears are done adding wide receivers. Besides Thomas, Hester and Weems they also have Brandon Marshall, Earl Bennett, Dane Sanzenbacher and Max Komar, all under contract. That gives them seven and that isn’t even counting Johnny Knox, who most likely will start the season on the PUP list.

Traditionally, head coach Lovie Smith has only kept six receivers on the roster, and depending on health, usually only dresses five. I guess we can assume since many of these receivers are special teams players that they will be dressing six a game.

With the wide receiver position locked up, it may it may allow general manager Phil Emery to look at taking a cornerback in the first round with the 19th pick. Since Corey Graham and Zach Bowman have left through free agency, it has left them fairly thin there.

With the draft under a month away, I guess we will just have to wait and see, but I think we can forget about seeing Michael Floyd or Stephen Hill catching touchdowns from Cutler this fall.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter @dachicagofan, and check out my weekly Bears podcast every Monday on my site The MG Experience.

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