Perhaps, NFL executives simply are getting even with middle linebacker Brian Urlacher for all the havoc he's wreaked in the league for the past 14 years.
Urlacher, an eight-time Pro Bowler and 2005 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, still is without a team after Minnesota Vikings coach Leslie Frazier told "NFL AM" that his team was still evaluating its in-house talent.
"Brian has been a great player in our league for a long, long time," Frazier said to the program. "He was a thorn in our side for many years. At this point, we want to look at the guys on our roster, give them a chance to compete for the middle linebacker position, then we'll see where it takes us."
A day earlier, a source close to Urlacher told the Chicago Sun-Times that the 34-year-old was "leaning" toward signing with the Vikings.
He reportedly also had a conversation with the Denver Broncos, although Gary Miller of KCNC-TV tweeted, "Bronco sources say forget about report out of Chicago about interest in Urlacher. There isn't any. No interest. No contact. End of story."
Urlacher turned down a $1 million guaranteed one-year offer in March (with a maximum value of $2 million) to remain with the Bears, the only organization for which he's played since entering the league in 2000, and remains a free agent.
Urlacher is the Bears all-time leading tackler, as well as their single-season leading tackler. He was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2000.
But he is coming off just a 68-tackle season over 12 games in 2012. His 5.7 tackles-per-game average is the lowest in his career - other than the 2009 season in which he played just one game and had three tackles before exiting with a season-ending neck injury.
An All-American safety at the University of New Mexico in 1999, Urlacher also was voted to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team.
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