Still without a contract and apparently without much hope of landing an agreement anytime soon, Lance Briggs will not be in attendance when the Bears begin a mandatory three-day minicamp on Friday morning. Briggs was named a franchise player by the Bears three months ago but is one of four such designated veterans around the NFL who has yet to sign a contract. Three other franchise players have signed contracts. Without a deal in place, Briggs is technically precluded from participating in the minicamp. Since he is not currently under contract, Briggs, who has not attended any of the offseason conditioning sessions, cannot be fined for skipping the mandatory minicamp.