St. Clair, 31, has also started games at left guard for the Bears and has expressed his desire to remain in Chicago. Left tackle was predicted to be a major trouble spot for the Bears last season when St. Clair was forced into a starting role there after spending his first three seasons with the team as a backup tackle. With a couple of exceptions, when he struggled against the Vikings' Jared Allen, St. Clair played better than others expected. But his performance didn't surprise the nine-year veteran from Virginia.

"I have confidence in my ability; I always have, and I thought I proved it in the past," St. Clair said. "If you have questions, it's part of the game. But I always have confidence in my game."

As a unit the Bears' offensive line was adequate last season, but because of the ages of Tait, St. Clair and 11-year veteran center Olin Kreutz (31), it was a position the Bears were expected to address in the draft. It becomes a greater concern if Tait retires and a critical need if they lose St. Clair, who thought he and the offensive line as a group performed well last season.

"You have your ups and downs, but that's the way it is with everybody, I don't care if you're a Pro Bowler or what. I think I played pretty well, but we play as a line, as a group, so it's about all of us, and I think we've played well all year."

The Bears were 26th in yards per game last season, tied for 14th in points and 12th in preventing sacks.

--Marty Booker's second go-round with the Bears didn't come close to living up to his first tour of duty.

Booker, who had back-to-back seasons of 100 and 97 catches in 2001 and '02 that accounted for 2,260 yards and 14 touchdowns, was released on Friday after catching just 14 passes last season.

The 32-year-old Booker had one year and $1 million remaining on the two-year, $3.5 million deal he signed last off-season as an unrestricted free agent after he was released by the Dolphins following four seasons in Miami. Booker was selected by the Bears in the third round of the 1999 draft and was a Pro Bowl pick in 2002. He was traded during the 2004 preseason for defensive end Adewale Ogunleye.

Booker's '01 and '02 seasons were the two most productive in Bears history in terms of receptions, and his streak of catching at least one pass in 60 straight games is also a franchise record. Booker's 329 receptions in six seasons with the Bears are tied for third in team history.

But the 6-foot, 205-pound 10-year veteran battled knee and other nagging injuries throughout the 2008 season that caused him to miss three games and numerous practices. Booker caught just 3 passes in the final nine games of the '08 season.

When Booker and Brandon Lloyd were signed three days apart early last March, they were expected to be major players in the Bears' passing attack. Lloyd got off to a fast start with 15 catches for 251 yards in the first four games but then missed five games with a sprained knee and wasn't much of a factor the remainder of the season with just 11 more catches for 113 yards in his final seven games.

Lloyd, who was playing on a one-year, $645,000 deal, is an unrestricted free agent who is not expected back with the Bears.

--After the Bears' season-ending and playoff-blowing loss to the Texans, general manager Jerry Angelo said: "You're never going to hear me say rebuilding."

Well, at least on the offensive side of the ball, the Bears are starting to look an awful lot like a team that's rebuilding.

If John Tait follows through with retirement plans, the offensive line may be a greater need than wide receiver, which was a glaring weak spot last season. Even with Tait, the Bears' aging offensive line wasn't very good last season, and it looks a lot worse now. Suddenly journeyman John St. Clair has become someone the Bears can't afford to lose in free agency.

Minus Tait and St. Clair, and assuming that 36-year-old Fred Miller, who was an emergency signee last year but ended the season on injured reserve, won't be back, the Bears would not have an offensive tackle on the roster who has ever started a game in the NFL. That's not exactly the best formula for improving the quarterback position, which Angelo said is the top priority.

Last year's first-round pick, Chris Williams, is expected to step into the starting left tackle spot this coming season. Beyond that, the Bears would have only Cody Balogh, an undrafted rookie and practice squad player in '08.

And the age factor on the offensive line is becoming more of a concern. Williams and guard Josh Beekman, the 2007 fourth-round pick who started 16 games at left guard, are the only significant offensive linemen who will be under 30 when the Bears report for training camp.

Needing a lot more quality and depth on the line and at wide receiver, plus better quarterback play, the Bears' offense sure looks like a rebuilding project.

--John Tait, who is seriously considering retirement at age 34 after 10 NFL seasons, started every game last season at right tackle and has missed just seven games in five seasons with the Bears. He played right tackle in his first season in Chicago (2004) and then left tackle for the next three seasons before switching back to right tackle last season.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Typically, our history has been that we look to add quality players at a good value. If baseball is any barometer, maybe some of the premier players won't be getting quite as much money as they might have gotten in the past. I think more teams might be a little more prudent and take their time before deciding to put out some of the larger contracts we've seen in recent years, given what's happened in baseball and with the state of the economy." -- Bears president and CEO Ted Phillips