With an admission about his back, Brian Urlacher created doubt about the future of his Bears' career that the team cannot ignore as it plans ahead. Suddenly the contract extension that Urlacher and the team had begun exploring informally looks like a risky commitment to an aging middle linebacker with arthritis. The Bears still owe $22.4 million to Urlacher after this season, including a whopping $7.35 million salary in 2011 when he will be 33.

Chicago Bears' linebacker Brian Urlacher all but confirmed an Internet report that he has an arthritic back after a subpar performance in Sunday's 16-7 loss to the Detroit Lions. Urlacher was credited with just four tackles on Sunday, another poor performance in an inconsistent season for him. The six-time Pro Bowl selection told foxsports.com that his back has been bothering him since training camp and that he recently had a specialist in Pittsburgh examine it. "He confirmed what the team told me, that they think it's an arthritis type of thing," Urlacher was quoted as saying in a story posted Sunday afternoon. "The thing that's so frustrating is there is no clear-cut solution to give me relief. I just have to deal with the pain." Asked if that report was accurate, Urlacher said "probably," but had little else to say after the game other than he will answer fans' questions on foxsports.com. It was not clear when he will do that.

The NFL continues to crack down on defenders who use the outlawed "horse-collar" tackle, and Chicago Bears' middle linebacker Brian Urlacher has been fined $7,500 for an incident in last Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Urlacher is the second Bears' defensive player sanctioned this year for the illegal maneuver which was banned in 2005. Rookie defensive back Corey Graham was fined for using a horse-collar tackle in a Sept. 30 game against Detroit. He has appealed the fine.

Rex Grossman's not going anywhere, at least not until the end of the season. Both Grossman and his agent Eugene Parker said he did not request a trade, as a radio report suggested Tuesday. The Bears also denied the report. "I'm his agent. If he didn't tell me, I would say, there's no truth to it," Parker said Tuesday afternoon. "I haven't talked to him since before the last game." Grossman confirmed Tuesday night he hadn't sought a trade.

General manager Jerry Angelo didn't comment last week after Lance Briggs broke his season-long silence, but Angelo addressed the prospect of the linebacker signing a long-term deal. "We've never closed the door on that," Angelo told WBBM-AM on its pregame show. "We said to Lance he'd be a Bear this year. We didn't go any further because we didn't put any gray into the equation, but we never shut the door and [we'll] wait to see how things play out."

Bears receiver Bernard Berrian denied reports that he plans to drop agent Roosevelt Barnes of Maximum Sports Management in favor of Drew Rosenhaus. "I have no idea where that came from," Berrian said Sunday. "Does it bug me? A little bit."

With the trade deadline Monday and the rash of injuries around the league at quarterback, it would seem to be an ideal time for the Bears to shop Rex Grossman in hopes of getting a draft pick for a player whose contract expires at the end of the season. But offensive coordinator Ron Turner still insists he believes in Grossman and wants him on the team. "We need him," Turner said. "That's the first I ever heard of [trade talk]. Rex is a very good player, and I still have a lot of confidence in him."

Lance Briggs once said he'd never play another down for the Chicago Bears. Now, he apparently wouldn't mind sticking around. "Absolutely," he said. The Pro Bowl linebacker said he ended his media boycott Wednesday because the league intervened. He reversed course from his comments in the offseason, when he blasted management for labeling him a franchise player and threatened a prolonged holdout. "I'd love to be here," he said. "I've always wanted to be here, regardless of what I've said. I've always wanted to be here."

Bears general manager Jerry Angelo says he is not eager to deal Rex Grossman. The NFL trade deadline is Oct. 16. "Rarely do you see someone pick up a quarterback during the season ... to hit the ground running and bring that team to the promised land, so to speak," Angelo said before Sunday night's game at Lambeau Field. "I don't anticipate that. You go with the hand you're dealt at certain positions, and the quarterback position is one of them."

Brett Favre threw two second-half interceptions to tie George Blanda's career NFL record of 277, allowing the Chicago Bears to rally for a 27-20 victory at Lambeau Field Sunday night. But Favre was responsible for only two of the Packers' five turnovers against a banged-up but ball-hungry Bears team -- a surefire recipe for an upstart team to cough up its undefeated record. "We should have won the ballgame, but we made a lot of mistakes and they capitalized," Favre said. The Packers gave away a 10-point halftime lead, and Bears' quarterback Brian Griese threw the go-ahead touchdown to tight end Desmond Clark with 2:05 left. Favre came out blazing with 243 yards in the first half and the Packers led 17-7 at halftime despite two first-quarter fumbles by rookie receiver James Jones in Bears territory. "I thought we were going to put a lot of points on the board," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "To play the way we did in the first half and not finish it was very disappointing."