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Leftwich on Bears: 'Tell them to look me up'
January 12, 2009
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs@suntimes.com
PITTSBURGH -- Byron Leftwich thought he was headed to the Bears in 2003, when he was coming out of Marshall and they held the fourth pick in the draft.
Now he's a candidate to be on the Bears' radar as they search for a free-agent quarterback after general manager Jerry Angelo identified the position as his No. 1 offseason priority. After proving with the Pittsburgh Steelers this season that he is over ankle injuries that limited him to nine games the previous two years, Leftwich is among a handful of available passers from which the Bears could pick, a group that also includes David Carr, Jeff Garcia, J.P. Losman and Chris Simms.
Leftwich, who turns 29 Wednesday and was a four-year starter in Jacksonville, has a strong arm, as he displayed Sunday on a perfectly thrown deep ball that Limas Sweed dropped. He was 7-for-10 for 129 yards and a touchdown in a Nov. 3 victory at Washington after a right shoulder injury knocked out Ben Roethlisberger, and he finished the season 21-for-36 for 303 yards and two touchdowns.
''We are in the playoff run right now, so I don't even want to go there, but tell them to look me up,'' Leftwich said. ''I'm a fan of Lovie Smith, I'll just say that. I thought that was where I was going to go in the beginning. I remember hoping that I would go there. I just wanted to be a part of the tradition, the history of the Bears. You're growing up, watching games at Soldier Field on TV, I wanted to be a part of that coming out. I thought there was a chance I would go there.
''I want a chance to go somewhere and play. I guess everybody wanted to see if I am healthy, and now they can see it. I'm ready to play again.''
NOTE: The Chargers' loss ensures the Bears will pick 18th in the first round of the draft.
January 12, 2009
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs@suntimes.com
PITTSBURGH -- Byron Leftwich thought he was headed to the Bears in 2003, when he was coming out of Marshall and they held the fourth pick in the draft.
Now he's a candidate to be on the Bears' radar as they search for a free-agent quarterback after general manager Jerry Angelo identified the position as his No. 1 offseason priority. After proving with the Pittsburgh Steelers this season that he is over ankle injuries that limited him to nine games the previous two years, Leftwich is among a handful of available passers from which the Bears could pick, a group that also includes David Carr, Jeff Garcia, J.P. Losman and Chris Simms.
Leftwich, who turns 29 Wednesday and was a four-year starter in Jacksonville, has a strong arm, as he displayed Sunday on a perfectly thrown deep ball that Limas Sweed dropped. He was 7-for-10 for 129 yards and a touchdown in a Nov. 3 victory at Washington after a right shoulder injury knocked out Ben Roethlisberger, and he finished the season 21-for-36 for 303 yards and two touchdowns.
''We are in the playoff run right now, so I don't even want to go there, but tell them to look me up,'' Leftwich said. ''I'm a fan of Lovie Smith, I'll just say that. I thought that was where I was going to go in the beginning. I remember hoping that I would go there. I just wanted to be a part of the tradition, the history of the Bears. You're growing up, watching games at Soldier Field on TV, I wanted to be a part of that coming out. I thought there was a chance I would go there.
''I want a chance to go somewhere and play. I guess everybody wanted to see if I am healthy, and now they can see it. I'm ready to play again.''
NOTE: The Chargers' loss ensures the Bears will pick 18th in the first round of the draft.
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