Veteran safety Adam Archuleta was released Tuesday, a move that has been expected since he was benched last season for ineffective play, including poor pass coverage and missed tackles.

The Bears still have good depth at safety if Mike Brown can overcome the injuries that have caused him to miss 43 of the previous 64 games over the past four seasons. Fourth-round pick Craig Steltz was added to a group that also includes Danieal Manning, who has started 29 games in his first two season, Brandon McGowan, who started nine times last season, and Kevin Payne, a fifth-round pick last season who showed promise early but suffered a fractured wrist in the fourth game.

Archuleta played in 15 games last season, and started 10 of the first 11 games at strong safety, but he was used primarily as a special-teams player after that. He still finished eighth on the team with 64 tackles and had 2 sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery and 5 special-teams tackles.

Archuleta was a first-round pick of the Rams in 2001, and he flourished under Lovie Smith, who was the Rams' defensive coordinator. But, after signing a $30 million free-agent contract with the Redskins in 2006, he was benched in the second half of the season.

PLAYERS LOST
SS Adam Archuleta (released).

PLAYERS ADDED
Undrafted rookie free agent RB Matthew Lawrence was signed May 5, and P Zacrey Atterberry, DE Gerard Lee, OG Ryan Poles and TE end Marcus Stone signed May 6, following last weekend's rookie minicamp.

FRANCHISE PLAYER
None.

TRANSITION PLAYER
None.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

--OG Ruben Brown missed the final eight games of the season with a shoulder injury that required surgery, which, after 13 NFL seasons, is probably a career ender.

--DT Antonio Garay is a bottom-of-the-depth chart player who finished the season on injured reserve with a fractured ankle.

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
None.

EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS
None.

PLAYERS ACQUIRED

--WR Marty Booker: FA Dolphins; $3.5M/2 yrs, SB unknown.

--WR Brandon Lloyd: FA Redskins; $645,000/1 yr, $40,000 WO; 2008 cap: $485,000.

PLAYERS RE-SIGNED

--LB Lance Briggs: UFA; $36M/6 yrs, $4M SB/$3.75M RB; $4.75M RB '09, $3.3M RB '10.

--WR Rashied Davis: RFA; $5.86M/3 yrs, SB unknown.

--QB Rex Grossman: Potential UFA; $3M/1 yr, $1.5M guaranteed.

--S Brandon McGowan: RFA; $1.47M/1 yr.

PLAYERS LOST

--S Adam Archuleta (released).

--LB Brendon Ayanbadejo: UFA Ravens; $4.9M/4 yrs, $1.9M SB.

--WR Bernard Berrian: UFA Vikings; $42M/6 yrs, $$5M SB/$8M RB; $3M RB '09.

--TE John Gilmore: UFA Buccaneers; terms unknown.

--QB Brian Griese (traded Buccaneers).

--CB Ade Jimoh (released).

--DT Jimmy Kennedy: UFA Jaguars (Bears had individually negotiated right of first refusal and did not match); $655,000/1 yr, $50,000 SB.

--T Fred Miller (released/failed physical).

--WR Muhsin Muhammad (released).

--DT Darwin Walker (released).

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