The Bears signed running back Antoineo Harris to a two-year contract Tuesday. Harris participated in the Bears recent mini-camp on a tryout basis. The University of Illinois product last appeared on an NFL roster with the San Diego Chargers who signed him as an undrafted rookie in 2003. He spent his rookie season on injured reserve and was waived by the Chargers in the 2004 off-season. Harris is the second-leading rusher in Illini history with 2,985 yards on 676 carries over four seasons from 1999-2002, leading the team in rushing each of his final three seasons.

The Minnesota Vikings spoke with Paul Edinger?s agent Ken Harris on Monday, expressing interest in the kicker who was released by the Chicago Bears the day before. Rob Brzezinski, Vikings vice president of football operations, would only say Monday the club is investigating Edinger's availability. "I think the offer sheet we signed him to speaks for itself," Brzezinski said.

For the second straight day the Bears released a member of the team that had been with the organization for five years. On Tuesday R.W. McQuarters was released. R.W. McQuarters? $3.05 million base salary was the biggest reason for the move. He projected as the fourth cornerback at a position with depth and would have also returned punts. Although the Bears would have preferred to get something for McQuarters, the market for a player that had been rumored to be on the block was minimal. ?After exploring trade opportunities with R.W., we felt it was in everyone?s best interest to release him at this time, General Manager Jerry Angelo said.

Just 10 days after signing with the Chicago Bears, veteran kicker Doug Brien has won the starting job, as the team on Sunday afternoon released Paul Edinger, who had handled the kicking duties for the past five seasons. The move, hardly surprising despite the contentions of Bears officials that they planned to take both kickers to training camp, came as Chicago wrapped up a three-day minicamp in which Brien was the superior kicker. In the wake of the Brien acquisition, Edinger and agent Ken Harris had asked for the kicker's release and been denied that request. But on Saturday, Brien converted six of seven field goal attempts, with his only miss on a 50-yard try that struck the upright. Edinger, a sixth-round pick in the 2000 draft, missed three of his seven tries, on attempts of 38, 43 and 50 yards.

Jarrett Payton has had a huge impact on the Amsterdam Admirals so far in the NFL Europe. He is third in the league in rushing yards with 410 and first with five rushing TDs. But the son of former Bears Hall of Famer Walter Payton has plans to rush for the Titans. "I've never been as focused and as hungry and playing as well as I have since I've been over here, so I am trying to just keep that up and bring it back with me," Payton said from Amsterdam. "I feel like it's a good chance for me to come back and be able to get a spot on the roster. I feel like I can help make plays. Yeah, I feel like this is a big chance and I am looking forward to it."

The Chicago Bears signed former Jets kicker Doug Brien to a one-year contract on Thursday bringing their list of kickers to five total. In two seasons with the Jets, Brien became the all-time franchise leader in field goal accuracy at 83.6 percent while recording 105 points in each season. The Jets released him last month.