Former Bears Safety Brown Lands With Chiefs

Mike Brown deserves a little luck, and a second chance

By EAMONN BRENNAN

Updated 10:00 AM CST, Thu, Jun 25, 2009

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For fans of the recent Bears -- or maybe those souls, like ours, who were just finishing up high school in the early aughts, and were really rounding out their hardcore Bears fandom at the time -- Mike Brown will be tough to forget. Brian Urlacher has been the leader of the Bears defense for much of Brown's time in Chicago, but Brown was every bit as exciting, and occasionally disappointing, as anyone else on the team.

Which is why it's good to see Brown land in Kansas City. The former Bears safety has agreed to terms with the Chiefs on a contract, and according to Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star will compete with current safeties Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page for a starting job. There's a chance Brown could win the starting spot -- he is a good safety, after all -- but more likely than not, he will serve as a veteran leader for a rather young defensive team.

You don't get to be a veteran leader without a long career ahead of you, and that's what Brown's had. After entering the league in 2000 and losing out on defensive rookie of the year honors to, who else, Brian Urlacher, Brown's best season came in 2001. You probably remember it. Brown had two interceptions in overtime for two sudden death wins, and the Bears finished 13-3 largely on the strength of their defense, who managed to consistently steal low-scoring games. They lost in the playoffs to a good Eagles team, but it was a memorable Bears season, and Mike Brown's stamp was all over it.

After that, though, things went downhill. Brown consistently struggled with injuries from 2004-2006. In 2007, Brown played the Bears' first game of the season. He picked off a pass, ran it back toward the end zone, and was tackled by Chargers fullback Lorenzo Neal. After examination, Brown's knee would keep him out the rest of the year, only the latest in a series of stomach-punch type injuries for a player that was clearly desperate to get back on the field. That night, in front of the media, Brown openly wept.

So while it's bittersweet that Brown never regained his 2001 form for the Bears, if anyone deserves some good luck and a second chance somewhere, it's him. This isn't something we'll say very often, but -- shhh -- go Chiefs.

Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.