Bears Set to Sign Browns' Shaffer

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Mar 26, 2009 8:45PM

With the recent retirement of John Tait and loss of free agent John St. Clair to Cleveland, the Bears offensive line was looking pretty depleted. To help plug the holes in the O-line, the Bears have reached an agreement to sign offensive tackle Kevin Shaffer. Shaffer, who previously played for the Cleveland Browns, was cut to make room on their roster for St. Clair. So effectively, the Bears and Browns simply swapped tackles -- but Cleveland got to choose which one they wanted. Shaffer's deal is for three-years and $8 million -- $2 million guaranteed. The 29 year old has started 47 games for the Browns over the past three season, so we should expect to see him starting for the Bears next year. But with Shaffer's deal not worth that much less than St. Clair's in Cleveland, and a few mill more than they had offered St. Clair to stay, did the Bears panic when trying to fill a need on their roster?