Guard Josh Sitton moved teams over the weekend, signing with the Bears after his surprising release from the Packers after eight years in Green Bay.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said a lot of things went into the decision without specifying what any of them were, although word from Green Bay is that Sitton wasn’t thrilled with the Packers’ lack of desire to sign him to a new contract with his deal set to expire after the 2016 season. The Bears gave Sitton a three-year deal with $10 million in guaranteed money, taking care of the issue of providing some certainty about his future.
It also gave him the chance to face the Packers twice a season, although Sitton said on Monday that a chance to show Green Bay it made a mistake wasn’t the reason why he now calls Chicago home.
“I wanted to get the decision made yesterday or today, as quickly as I can,” Sitton said, via the Green Bay Press-Gazette. “I wanted to get to where I was going and be able to learn the offense and be able to jump in right this week. The longer it took, the harder it would have been to learn the offense. Chicago, they had me in first, and they got it done first. ... Honestly, it didn’t have anything to do with sticking it to the Packers. More familiar with the division, close to where I was.”
It may not have been the primary reason that Sitton decided to sign on with Chicago, but it’s not a bad potential bonus to have as part of the package.