The Chicago Bears turned some heads on Wednesday when the team announced that they had agreed to terms on a 4-year deal with former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.
The deal, which will pay Allen a guaranteed $15.5 million and potentially up to $32 million over the life of the contract, was enough to secure his services despite intense interest from the Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders, among others.
After the contract was announced by the team Wednesday morning, several players took to Twitter to weigh in on the contract and to welcome Allen to the franchise. Lance Briggs, who has been openly critical of the team's handling of Brian Urlacher and Devin Hester in recent years, was among those excited for Allen's arrival:
A changing of the guard in the #NFCNorth. #69 a Bear! It's looking up for this bunch! Welcome @JaredAllen69. — Lance Briggs (@LanceBriggs) March 26, 2014
Fellow free-agent acquisition Ryan Mundy kept it simple with his reaction to the deal:
Great morning. — Ryan Mundy (@RMundy29) March 26, 2014
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Defensive tackle Nate Collins also seemed really amped to add Allen to a defensive line that had some serious struggles last season:
Man this year is going to be awesome! #��⬇️ — Nate Collins (@BIGN98) March 26, 2014
Even offensive guys got in on the act, as left tackle Jermon Bushrod extended his welcome to the 10-year NFL veteran:
Great news hearing we picked Jared Allen today #bearDown — Jermon Bushrod (@j_bushrod7475) March 26, 2014
Kyle Long also showed some joy that he would no longer have to face off against Allen during games between the Bears and Vikings:
I woke up to 1,000,000 text messages..... RIGHTFULLY SO... WELCOME TO THE SQUAD @JaredAllen69 — Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) March 26, 2014
Finally though, it wouldn't be a Bears social media welcoming party without Chloe and Sarahanne Trestman expressing their excitement over their dad's newest defensive weapon:
JARED... ALLEN, that is all. #MonstersOfTheMidway �� — Chloe Trestman (@chloT94) March 26, 2014
Well just woke up to some amazing news #JaredAllen ���� — Sarahanne Trestman (@sarahTrest) March 26, 2014
