Jan. 04--Quarterback Matt Blanchard signed a reserve/futures contract with the Chicago Bears on Monday after the Lake Zurich product passed on a chance to leave for another team last week.
An AFC club attempted to sign Blanchard off the Bears practice squad but he wanted to remain in place and the Bears agreed to bump up his pay for the week to the level he would have received on the active roster.
Blanchard re-joined the Bears practice squad on Dec. 8. He spent the offseason and training camp with the Green Bay Packers and then had stays with the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts on their practice squads earlier this season.
He led Wisconsin-Whitewater to three consecutive Division III national championships before joining the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Blanchard, 26, has also spent time with the Carolina Panthers.
By passing on a chance to join the active roster of another team, Blanchard made it clear he likes his chances to compete with the Bears under general manager Ryan Pace and coach John Fox even if it looks like offensive coordinator Adam Gase could be hired away as a head coach by another team.
The Bears signed eight other players from their practice squad to reserve/future contracts: offensive tackle Martin Wallace, cornerback De'Vante Bausby, tight end Gannon Sinclair, wide receiver Nathan Palmer, tight end Marcus Lucas, linebacker Danny Mason, fullback Paul Lasike and center Cornelius Edison. Sinclair was the only player to spend the entire season on the practice squad. The Bears had a total of 30 players spend at least one week on the developmental squad.
