"We have Steltz, so to say (free safety is) a need is premature," Angelo said. "We do have somebody. We like Craig. I thought he did a nice job when he did play last year. He did a very good job on special teams. Players that show (well) on special teams, when their number's called usually play well (on defense), too."

Bullocks, a second-round pick of the Saints (40th overall) in 2005 out of Nebraska, started 43 games in his first three seasons in New Orleans but got just six starts last season, when he had a career-low 41 tackles after averaging 72 in his first three years. The 6-foot-1, 207-pounder has above-average speed, but is not considered a ball hawk, as evidenced by his six career interceptions.

Bullock, who just turned 26 last month, is regarded as an adequate starter by NFL personnel types, and he has also played special teams in the past.

Steltz, a fourth-round pick out of LSU Last year, was inactive for the first five games but played in the last 11. He intercepted a pass at the goal line in the fourth quarter against the Lions on Nov. 2 and returned it 44 yards to help the Bears overcome a 23-13 halftime deficit in a 27-23 victory at Soldier Field. Steltz had replaced Mike Brown as the starter after he suffered a calf injury late in the first half. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Steltz also blocked a punt against the Vikings on Oct. 19 that was returned 17 yards for a touchdown by Garrett Wolfe. Steltz was sixth on the Bears with 13 special-teams tackles.

--Last week on the Bears' website, general manager Jerry Angelo was asked about upgrading the wide receiver position and indicated he would be relying on the draft.

"Naturally, we're going to look at that real hard, in all likelihood in the draft," Angelo said of the wide receiver position. "We're not looking for backup wide receivers. What we want are potentially starting wide receivers. What we're looking at is the top of the wide receiver position. Where does that come from? It comes with a premium receiver in free agency, if there's one out there, and/or in the draft."

Other than 15-year veteran Marvin Harrison and maybe D.J. Hackett, there aren't any standout unrestricted free agent wide receivers, and the Bears have shown no interest in either of them.

That leaves the draft, which, when it comes to wide receivers, has been a crapshoot in recent years, especially in the early rounds. It's a bad gamble to count on even the best wide receivers to produce decent numbers in Year 1.

Of the top 10 wide receivers taken in each of the past four years, only seven of the 40 put up starter-type numbers as rookies: Eddie Royal, DeSean Jackson and Donnie Avery last year, Calvin Johnson and Dwayne Bowe in 2007, Santonio Holmes and Greg Jennings in '06. In '05, Reggie Brown was close with 43 catches for 571 yards.

--The Bears re-signed backup running back Kevin Jones late Friday afternoon to a two-year, $3.5 million contract.

The Bears and Jones, who became an unrestricted free agent on Feb. 27, hope he can contribute more in the future than last season, when he had just 34 carries for 109 yards, and a 3.2-yard average. Jones carried 13 times for 45 yards in the 2008 season opener and four weeks later had 10 carries for 36 yards against his former team, the Detroit Lions. But in the final 11 games, he had just 4 carries for 2 yards and was inactive five times.

Jones' deal calls for $1 million in guaranteed bonus money this season, a $500,000 signing bonus and a $500,000 roster bonus. His base salary is $1 million this season and $1.15 million in 2010. He has a workout bonus worth $350,000 in '10.

Two weeks ago at the NFL's annual Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Bears coach Lovie Smith hinted that Jones would be back and that he might have an increased role in the future as the backup to rookie Matt Forte.

"Do we need a good complement to go along with him?" Smith said of Forte. "Yes, we're always trying to do that. I think as you look at our history since we've been here as a staff, I think we've had our most productive years when we had two running backs that we really felt comfortable playing, and you would like to get back to that situation. Maybe we have that complement there right now."

Jones, who earlier visited the Buffalo Bills, was a first-round pick (30th overall) in 2004 and rushed for 1,133 yards as a rookie. He suffered a torn ACL in December of 2007 and was cut by the Lions the following March. The Bears signed him just before training camp started last year.

--The Bears voluntarily trimmed their already thin offensive line by releasing seven-year veteran backup guard Terrence Metcalf.

Metcalf played in six games as a reserve in 2008 before being suspended for four games by the NFL for violating of the league's substance-abuse policy. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Metcalf was a third-round draft pick (93rd overall) out of Mississippi in 2002. He appeared in 84 games, including 25 starts in seven seasons with the Bears.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "He'll line up at the left tackle position for us and we're expecting big things out of him now. Looking at it in hindsight, to have a chance to come in and learn your rookie year without playing, I think has turned out well for him." -- Bears coach Lovie Smith on 2008 first-round draft pick OT Chris Williams, who suffered a back injury on the second day of training camp that required surgery and kept him out until the middle of the season, after which he played just a handful of snaps on special teams.