Thin at QB, Bears sign Blake

By John Onan  |   Monday, August 15, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Chicago Bears
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In an attempt to provide depth at quarterback now that starter Rex Grossman has went down with a broken ankle, the Chicago Bears signed veteran Jeff Blake to a one-year deal. Blake, best known as starting quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1994-99, will be backing up Chad Hutchinson and rookie Kyle Orton at least until Grossman recovers from the injury he suffered in the 2nd quarter of the Chicago Bears' Friday night exhibition game against the St. Louis Rams. He is scheduled to undergo surgery on his left ankle today.

In his NFL career, Blake has appeared in 117 games in 13 seasons. He has passed for 21, 656 yards with 133 touchdowns and 99 interceptions. Since his best days in Cincinnati, he has bounced around the league, playing for four different teams. Last season, he was a backup for Donovan McNabb with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Rex Grossman missed most of the last season when he tore his ACL in week 3 of the season while rushing for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings. He ended up missing the rest of the season, and the Bears offense struggled with Jonathan Quinn and Craig Krenzel both seeing time in his place; they finished 5-11 in 2004.

Chad Hutchinson is now penciled in as the starter when the Chicago Bears open the regular season on September 11th at Washington.
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