Now retired Urlacher wanted to play for Cowboys

Now retired Urlacher wanted to play for Cowboys

Published May. 25, 2013 9:11 p.m. ET

The great Brian Urlacher will go down as a Chicago legend. He was one of the NFL's most famous faces during his 13-year career with the Chicago Bears. He was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, a five-time All-Pro and sits right behind Ray Lewis as one of the finest defensive players of his generation.

Urlacher has retired, but if he had his way, he'd be playing one more year. In Dallas.

Yeah.

"If I could have picked a spot, it would have been Dallas," Urlacher told the Chicago Tribune. "(The Cowboys) run our defense. They took our d-coordinator (Rod Marinelli). That would have been ideal. But they have two really good young linebackers."

So how about that?

It's a moot point because Urlacher, 35, has retired, but it speaks to two things. The first is Urlacher's relationship with Bears management, which he felt disrespected him in the way it handled his final contract offer (it was for one year, $2 million).

The second is that it shows Urlacher perceives the Cowboys to be championship contenders. Urlacher would not have accepted an offer to play out the string for some loser, and evidently believed the Cowboys, who haven't had a winning season since 2009, had the potential to help Urlacher win that elusive Super Bowl ring.

ADVERTISEMENT
share