Charles Tillman has announced his decision to retire after 13 NFL seasons.

Tillman was a second round pick for the Chicago Bears in 2003 and was one of the leaders of their excellent defense for many years.

Tillman started 12 games for the Carolina Panthers last season before missing four games with a partially torn ACL. Tillman returned to play on the injury in Weeks 15-17 before fully tearing the ligament.

"I've had 13 amazing years on two great teams and I'm just thankful for the love and support that I got from my teammates, the fans and my coaches," Tillman told ChicagoBears.com. "I'm thankful to everyone who has helped me get to where I am right now because I definitely didn't do it by myself."

Alshon Jeffery and the Chicago Bears remain far apart on long-term contract talks.

The Bears have until July 15th to agree upon a deal with Jeffery.

"There's not a lot of confidence," Garafalo said on Thursday's episode of NFL Total Access. "I sense that both sides really don't feel strongly about this one. That's because Alshon Jeffery's got a $14.6 million tag. The Bears wanted to come in a couple of million below that."

Jeffery sees himself as a prototypical No. 1 wide receiver but the Bears are concerned by his injury history.