Ex- Bear Ricky Manning Jr. Signs With The St. Louis Rams

Ricky Manning Jr. signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Rams today and gave them a little more depth at the CB position.

The veteran corner-back was released by the Bears last Tuesday.

Career Stats for Ricky Manning Jr:

In two seasons with the Bears, Ricky Manning Jr. appeared in 31 games with 11 starts.

Manning Jr. had 106 tackles, three sacks and five interceptions in his time with the Bears.

He had 168 tackles and nine interceptions in his three seasons with Carolina.

St. Louis Rams CB's:

Fakhir Brown- an eight year veteran, who has had seven of his ten career interceptions with the Rams in the last two seasons.

Tye Hill- a first round pick in 2006, has four interceptions in two seasons.

Ron Bartell- a 2nd round pick from 2005, has five interceptions in three years with the Rams.

Jonathan Wade- last season's 3rd round pick out of Tennessee has one career interception.

Where does Ricky Manning Jr. fit in?

He can make a difference, he has had eight career interceptions in five seasons.

He lost his job, with the Bears because of a terrible season last year.

He will fight for a starting job, but probably wind up as a backup to Tye Hill or Fakhir Brown.

It's a good move for the St. Louis Rams.

Other News/Notes:

Former Chicago Bears RB P.J. Pope signed with the Denver Broncos practice squad today.

He showed some flashes of good play, in last Thursday's preseason finale, when he carried the ball eight times for 34 yards in the second half.

Bears Release Veteran Cornerback Ricky Manning Jr.

We all saw this coming.

Today veteran CB Ricky Manning Jr. was released by the Chicago Bears.

"Getting released was more emotional for my wife than me," Manning Jr said.

"She was a little upset that they said I was a part of the program, then they released me this late in the process when it could have been done a while ago. That would have made things easier for my family."

Manning Jr. signed with the Bears as a restricted free agent in 2006 off-season.

In two seasons with the Bears, Ricky Manning Jr. appeared in 31 games with 11 starts.

Manning Jr. had 106 tackles, three sacks and five interceptions in his time with the Bears.

Manning Jr. had no interceptions last season, while playing nickel-back with the Bears D.

All five interceptions made my him, came in the Super Bowl season.

Manning Jr. was a third round pick out of UCLA, by the Carolina Panthers.

He had 168 tackles and nine interceptions in his three seasons with Carolina.

Ricky skipped practice this morning, showing his displeasure towards the team.

He wants an opportunity to play as a starter, but with his stats from last year he might not have a chance.

Hopefully Manning Jr. will get a shot somewhere, he was very good in the Bears Super Bowl season.

Detroit, New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Cleveland have said to have interest in Manning Jr.

People look at this move like the Chris Harris trade last off-season, which was terrible, but the Bears have plenty of CB's.

They not only have Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman, but they have Corey Graham, who is looking good and Trumaine McBride, who started in place of Vasher last season, due to injury.

The Bears defense will be fine, remember they didn't blitz at all in the Niners game.

This is what coach Lovie Smith had to say about the performance “Well, it’s still a preseason game. Do you not feel the same way? It’s a preseason game. You don’t want to play that bad obviously, but we did. We know what we need to correct, and we’ll do it. Come the Indy game, you won’t see that defense, I’ll tell you.”

They don't want to give away any plays for the other teams in the league.

Ricky Manning Jr: Most Likely Chicago Bear to Be Traded

Do you think the Chicago Bears will trade Ricky Manning Jr?

Yes, it sure seems like he is the odd man out.

Ricky Manning Jr. signed with the Chicago Bears in 2006, he set a career high, and he tied for the team lead and tied for 10th in the NFL with five INTs

In the postseason he had a big INT against the Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Playoff.

Became first Bears defensive back since Jerry Azumah (12/30/01) to record 2 sacks in one game (12/17/06 vs. TB Bucs).

Last season, Ricky Manning Jr. played in every regular season game, but failed to record an interception. He was the starting nickel back for the whole season.

The Chicago Bears are looking to use former first round pick Danieal Manning at nickelback because of the emergence of Brandon McGowan and Mike Brown coming back.

Besides the obvious starters Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher, the Bears have two second year pros in Corey Graham and Trumaine McBride. Don't forget this years fifth round pick Zackary Bowman.

If they do move Ricky Manning Jr, it might work out like Chris Harris in last years training camp.

Chris Harris started 15 games with the Panthers last season, recorded one INT and eight forced fumbles.

All the Chicago Bears got in that trade was a fifth round pick.

I still am upset at that trade.

So, if they move Ricky Manning Jr. it could turn out the same as Chris Harris's last year in training camp.

It never hurts to have to many bodies and we all the know the Chicago Bears get alot of injuries.

It looks Ricky Manning Jr. who is signed through 2010, might get sent packing sooner than later.