What are the chances the Bears lose Rashied Davis in restricted free agency?
Slim.
The wide receiver was tendered at the low level of $927,000, and the Bears will not receive compensation for him if another club signs him to an offer sheet and they decline to match it. But how much money is going to be thrown at a No. 4/slot receiver with good ability on special teams? If its a fair contract there is a good chance the Bears would just match an offer sheet and thank the other team for negotiating the deal for them. Thats what happened with defensive lineman Israel Idonije two years ago when the Buffalo Bills attempted to lure him away as an RFA.
For practical purposes few players change uniforms as RFAs. The deadline for clubs to sign players from other teams to offer sheets is April 18. The players current team has one week to match an offer sheet once it is signed.
The Bears nabbed cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. from the Carolina Panthers this way in 2006. He is one of just 12 RFAs to switch teams in the last four seasons.
Safety Brandon McGowan will not be going anywhere. The Bears tendered him at the mid-level for $1.417 million. That means they would receive a second-round pick in compensation should another team sign him away. It isnt going to happen. Both Davis and McGowan could wind up working out extensions with the Bears but given McGowans track record of major injurieshes torn an ACL and an Achilles tendonthey might want to see him show some durability before making a bigger commitment financially.
Here are some recent statistics regarding free-agent movement courtesy of the league office:
(numbers are the total players in this category that changed teams)
2007
Unrestricted 126
Restricted 4
Transition 0
Franchise 0
Total 130
2006
Unrestricted 149
Restricted 4
Transition 1
Franchise 0
Total 154
2005
Unrestricted 104
Restricted 3
Transition 0
Franchise 0
Total 107
2004
Unrestricted 124
Restricted 1
Transition 1 (John Tait)
Franchise 0
Total 126
2003
Unrestricted 111
Restricted 5
Transition 1
Franchise 0
Total 117
2002
Unrestricted 130
Restricted 1
Transition 0
Franchise 0
Total 131
2001
Unrestricted 93
Restricted 4
Transition 0
Franchise 0
Total 97
2000
Unrestricted 107
Restricted 4
Transition 0
Franchise 0
Total 111
1999
Unrestricted 115
Restricted 2
Transition 1
Franchise 0
Total 118
1998
Unrestricted 110
Restricted 4
Transition 1
Franchise 2
Total 117
