What's the catch, Bears.

Not sure whether to send the Bears a thank you card and mini muffins for their generous donation to the Panthers glaring need for a safety, or should I be cautious about why they gave up a starter/super-sub for only a 5th round pick.

Either way, it's unusual to see a player get traded at this point in training camp. Do the Bears have some hotshot who can step in at safety up there?

By no means do they have a hot shot, but they got a veteran in Adam Archuleta. The defensive backfield is pretty full and it was rumored all week someone was going to get cut or traded in that department.

I think Chris Harris can be a decent DB in this league, but he has some learning to do. He gets burned on occasion...badly.

That's because he's more of a run stopper. Like Simmons said, he's not a fast guy who is going to help you in pass coverage much, but he will put the leather to someone and knock their lights out.

I hate that the Bears traded Harris, I really like him. But safety is one of the deepest (in numbers at least) positions on the roster. We have Archuleta and Mike Brown, Danieal Manning (top pick in '06), Brandon McGowan and two guys we picked up in the draft.....and I may be forgetting someone. So you see what I mean as far as depth at the position.

After hearing we only got a fifth round pick, initially I was okay with it because Chicago took Harris in the 6th round so we got a slight return on our investment, but his value had to be at least a 4th round pick. Oh well, the trade kind of makes it to where we got Darwin Walker (DT from Philly that we got over the weekend) for free because we gave up a 5th rounder for him.

I guess it makes sense for the Panthers, they have Minter retiring after this year, and he is a hitting safety not a cover safety. Building depth.

Actually, I just now read that Minter is contemplating retirement before this season due to knee pain. That explains the move, it also said the trade was for an undisclosed draft pick meaning it is probably related to playing time.