March 24--John Fox said the Bears straightened out their special teams at midseason last year, and that turnaround was due, in part, to an improved kickoff return game.
The Bears are bringing back the return man, agreeing to terms with wide receiver Deonte Thompson on a one-year contract. The $840,000 deal is a minimum-salary-benefit contract, but Thompson receives an $80,000 signing bonus.
Thompson, who made a free-agent visit to the Bills and received other interest as well, was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster in November and finished second in the NFL with an average of 29.2 yards, trailing only Cordarrelle Patterson of the Vikings (31.2). He was a restricted free agent and the Bears did not tender him at the low level of $1.671 million. That means they did not want to pay the 27-year-old that much and they wound up getting him back for half.
Thompson had a 74-yard return against the 49ers on Dec. 6 and added an element of speed the Bears had been lacking. They signed Thompson to the practice squad on Sept. 22 and took their time promoting him to the 53-man roster as the return game struggled.
His average of 29.2 was the highest for the Bears since Devin Hester averaged 35.6 yards in 2010. Thompson also caught two passes for 81 yards.
It's unknown if the addition of Thompson affects the team's interest in Broncos reserve defensive back Omar Bolden, who is supposed to visit next week. Bolden was a returner in Denver and one of the team's better coverage players on special teams the last four seasons.
bmbiggs@tribpub.com
