Marty Booker Is Back With the Bears

In a move that should come as a surprise to no one, the Bears finally signed somebody that wasn't a member of the team last season, though he was a Chicago Bear back in 2004 before being traded to Miami during the preseason.

Marty Booker has signed a two-year deal to return to the Bears.

Booker, who turns 32 in July, is vacationing out of the country. He will get $3.5 million in the deal.

''I still have plenty of good years left,'' he said last month. ''I've been saved [in Miami] for four years.''

The Bears traded Booker and a third-round pick to the Dolphins at the end of the 2004 preseason for defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. The move crushed Booker, but he recovered enough to want to return.

Marty wanted to come back so badly that, since being released by the Dolphins three weeks ago, he didn't really look for a job anywhere else. He had a visit with the Patriots, but nothing concrete came out of it, as Booker kept waiting by the phone for the Bears to call.

Initially, the Bears' interest in Booker was lukewarm, but after losing both Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad the last few weeks, I guess they figured they better sign someone.

Marty had a couple of very good seasons with the Bears, he's the last Bear to record a 1,000 yard season, owns the team record for receptions in a season (100 in 2001). The last few seasons in Miami haven't been that great for Marty, but in his defense, he was playing in Miami.

I don't expect Booker to come back here and become a 1,000 yard receiver again, but he's clearly a better option than anyone the Bears already had. I'd still like to see the Bears sign another free agent receiver, like Bryant Johnson or D.J. Hackett, and maybe draft one as well in what's a deep class of receivers this season.