Quick Signings

Last year, the Chicago Bears had just about all of their draft picks signed before the other 31 teams even thought about signing their first. It was impressive. Most impressive. The Bears are at it again this year. Fourth-round safety Brock Vereen and sixth-round quarterback David Fales agreed to terms on Monday. The Bears doubled that production yesterday. They signed second-round defensive tackle Ego Ferguson, fourth-round running back Ka'Deem Carey, sixth-round punter Pat O'Donnell, and seventh-round tackle Charles Leno Jr. Six of their eight draft picks are now signed. Only first-round corner Kyle Fuller and third-round defensive tackle Will Sutton remain. Unless Fuller mucks up the works all should be under contract soon. Nice work Bears.

The new CBA has basically scripted the signing of the draft picks. There is a certain amount of money that can be spent for each pick. The length of the contracts are already determined. There are so few particulars to be negotiated that the contracts should be a snap. The Bears seem to be the only team that puts it into action. Of course, it takes two to tango. The freshly drafted players have to want to sign right away. The new CBA has taken away much of their bargaining power. The pot of gold available to them is much smaller than it was prior to 2011 and there's nothing that they can do about it. Many of the players have been living off of their agent's advances since January. One would think that they'd want to get off of that supposed charity as soon as possible.

Bears general manager Phil Emery runs an efficient ship. At least when it comes to getting his draft picks into the fold. I've never understood, especially since the 2011 CBA, why teams routinely wait to start the signing process. The weeks following the draft make up the closest thing to a break in the NFL calendar. The scouts certainly get their much deserved break. Perhaps the front office takes a break as well. That's the only explanation that I can figure for teams waiting to sign the draft picks. All I know is that this is the rare occasion when the Chicago Bears do something worth cheering.