Geno

Hayes

Hayes was knocked out by Cody Grimm’s knee on the play that ended Grimm’s season. SLB Quincy Black (ankle) also returned to practice, so the Bucs’ linebackers should be back to full strength against the Colts on Monday night.

The Bucs have plenty of salary cap room, so their reluctance to re-sign Hayes before free agency speaks volumes after he was temporarily benched last season. One possibility for Tampa is pursuing MLBs Curtis Lofton and Stephen Tulloch with the intention of shifting Mason Foster outside.

Hayes, who’s still only 24, is a scheme fit as an outside linebacker for the Bears’ Tampa 2 scheme. The athletic Hayes recorded 64 tackles and forced two fumbles in 16 appearances last season, making 13 starts but getting benched late in the year. Hayes will be Lance Briggs’ backup with Chicago.

Emery also confirmed Hayes will be Lance Briggs’ primary backup on the weak-side. Roach is vulnerable coming off a mediocre 2011, but Hayes should begin the year as a reserve after being one of the primary reasons the Bucs had the league’s 32nd ranked run defense last season.

Hayes has experience in a defensive scheme like Lovie Smith’s, having played in Raheem Morris’ Tampa 2. The Bears have worked out a flurry of veteran linebackers this week, also including Rocky McIntosh, Zac Diles, and Bryan Kehl.

Hayes wasn’t a priority for the Bucs this offseason, and would provide the Broncos with solid insurance for WLB D.J. Williams as he awaits a ruling in his appeal of his six-game suspension. Hayes started for the Bucs the past three years, but was benched for a three-game stretch last season.

Hayes had been benched the last two weeks, but the Bucs went 0-2 and gave up 32.0 points per game during that span. Hayes was averaging 5.7 tackles per game in seven starts earlier this year.

Quincy Black moved to the weak side with Adam Heyward joining the lineup at strong side. “We needed some better play out of the (weak-side) linebacker position,” Morris said. It will be a boon to Black’s IDP value. He tied MLB Mason Foster for the team lead in tackles (9) during Sunday’s win over the Saints, and the weak side is a much more production-friendly position than “Sam.”

The Sun-Times confirms the timetable. Urlacher said he heard a “pop” while chasing Russell Wilson late in last week’s game. He could end up missing the remainder of the regular season, with the goal to return for the playoffs. Despite losing a step to knee woes, Urlacher has been the Bears leading tackler (88) while producing three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Nick Roach is expected to move to the middle with Geno Hayes entering the lineup on the strong side.

Hayes spent one season in Chicago after playing four years in Tampa Bay. He was the Bears’ top backup linebacker, but he could be asked to fill free agent Daryl Smith’s shoes on the strong side in Jacksonville. The problem is that Hayes (6'1/226) is terrible against the run. Some Jaguars fans may be hoping Hayes isn’t the only Geno on the team’s Week 1 roster.