Derricus Purdy

Bears Cut Adrian Wilson, Eight Others

Sunday, 12:28pm: The Bears have also waived OL Joe Long, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Chicago needs to make six more cuts before 3pm central time on Tuesday.

Saturday, 9:02pm: The Bears have cut ties with veteran safety Adrian Wilson, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Biggs also reports that the team has let go of defensive tackle Nate Collins (Twitter link), offensive lineman Dylan Gandy (Twitter link) and a group of young players:

The Bears signed the 34-year-old Wilson in June with the hope that he’d add a veteran presence to the secondary. The safety missed the entire 2013 season with a foot injury, and Biggs writes that he didn’t move around well enough in camp to justify a role. According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), Wilson’s last productive season came in 2011 when he made the Pro Bowl with the Cardinals.

Collins, a former undrafted free agent, was beginning to establish himself last season after starting a pair of games. The 26-year-old went down with an ACL injury, and while he’s done an admirable job recovering, Biggs indicates that the team preferred to move forward with draft picks Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton. 

Gandy, a ten-year veteran, had spent the previous five seasons with the Lions, where he served exclusively as a backup. Before that he played for the Raiders, Broncos, and Colts, where he won a Super Bowl in 2007. The 32-year-old has played primarily guard and center throughout his career, and has appeared in at least 15 games since 2009.

Tuesday Signings: Seahawks, Bucs, Bears

A handful of NFL teams signed players to contracts today, according to the league’s transactions log. Because these are modest reserve/futures contracts and not significant deals like DeAngelo Hall‘s, we’ll round them up in a single post, right here:

  • The Seahawks have signed wide receiver Chris Matthews, tweets Brian McIntyre. Matthews, who was said to be deciding between two NFL teams, had a standout 2012 season for the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers, racking up nearly 1200 yards on 81 catches, but was sidelined for most of the 2013 season due to various injuries.
  • Linebacker Damaso Munoz has signed with the Buccaneers, according to McIntyre (via Twitter). Like Matthews, Munoz has spent multiple seasons playing in the CFL, having played for the Edmonton Eskimos in each of the last three years. Munoz’s 2012 and 2013 campaigns were virtually identical from a statistical perspective — in both seasons, he notched 88 tackles and three sacks.
  • The Bears have signed cornerback Derricus Purdy, says Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The former Texas Southern DB went undrafted in 2013 before reportedly drawing some interest from the Packers and Bills.