Professor

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/footb...022908.article

The Bears have lost their first player in free agency.

Tight end John Gilmore is at the airport in Philadelphia headed to Tampa, Fla., where he will sign a three-year contract with the Buccaneers tonight.

The Bears negotiated with Gilmore’s agent this week and went back-and-forth but their offer did not measure up after Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden called Gilmore this morning at 12:15.

``I was asleep and I really was not expecting to hear anything until the weekend,’’ Gilmore said. ``My agent called me after 11 and woke me up. He said he had thrown a number out at Tampa Bay and they were going to get right back to him.

``The next thing I know I was on the phone with Gruden. He told me, `I don’t think you realize how excited we are to have you. You definitely figure into what we’re doing, we’re going to get you very involved in a lot of two-tight end sets.’ He wants me to do what I do and it sounds like I’ll get to catch more footballs. He was a little bit more fired up than I probably sounded at the time.’’

The terms of he deal brokered by agent Chafie Fields are not yet known, but the Bears’ offer never went above the minimum salary for each season with a marginal signing bonus. They had hoped to retain him after extending the contract of Desmond Clark earlier in the week, and Gilmore said last weekend that he hoped to remain a Bear. Gilmore had been in close contact with tight ends coach Rob Boras, and said Fields gave the team a deadline of Thursday to make something happen. Now, the Bears can add a blocking tight end to their long list of needs on offense.

Gilmore was with the Bears for six seasons and was attractive to the Bucs because he has only missed two games in the last five years. He has 21 career receptions in 86 games with three touchdowns. Gilmore has been a productive special teams player also.

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