Schefter: Sidney Rice to the Bears is a Possibility

Just this morning (and somewhat under the radar) ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote that our rival Chicago Bears could make a splash at the wide receiver position. It would be impermissible for us to copy and paste what was written, as it’s behind a paywall. Still without taking the article verbatim Schefter goes on to say three key names — Chad Ochocinco (who last played for the Bengals), James Jones (who last played for the Packers) and last but definitely not least soon to be free agent Sidney Rice (duh?). The reason for Jones and Rice to the Windy City is to stick it to a divisional rival giving them one less offensive weapon.

Before some of us wish that Sidney has another injury-riddled season this time wearing a Bears jersey, lets put a couple of things into perspective on the source. Adam Schefter is a football media titan. He’s been a star working for The Denver Post, the NFL Network and now ESPN. He has over 600k followers on Twitter and is considered the most quick and reliable NFL Insiders by a number of media publications and football fans.

But one must also consider Schefter’s main source of getting his information is that of a sports agent. When ever a trade goes through or a new contract is signed, an agent (be it Drew Rosenhaus, Joel Segal, Tom Condon or Ben Dogra to name a few) knows as quick as a player does, the agent then calls Schefter to ensure the story is reported quick and reported accurately. And then of course other beat writers scramble to write a story first verifying through their own sources that it’s true and the team later reports the transaction.

And the problem with this ESPN Insider article is that both Chad Ochocinco and Sidney Rice share an agent in Drew Rosenhaus. You don’t think Schefter and Rosenhaus were drinking scotch one night talking about how the Bears could spend big on a wide receiver? Or have some sort of You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours thing going on to drive Sidney’s price up giving Rosenhaus a bigger slice of the pie and also give Schefter a story to write about for another idle Wednesday over this lockout?

It’s entirely possible Sidney will balk at the Vikings first offer and it’s anyone’s guess as to whom he plays for if it’s not wearing purple (for the record, Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz favors that of small and shifty wide receivers to create mismatches). Personally, I’d cry another Mississippi River if he suits up for the Bears. But this read by Schefter is fluff.

Jon Merckle may be followed on Twitter @thevikingpig