The deal is
Official as all lingering concerns were resolved by a passed physical in Chicago. Adam offers some healthy Good Bye words through
The Times:
"I sensed things were kind of strange, really not what they seemed towards the end of training camp," the 29-year-old Archuleta said. "I didn't see it coming. It kind of snowballed into kind of a mess. I won't pretend I went there and lit it up. When you look at the performance of the team and the defense and you look at individual performances, I don't think mine was really out of line. In a certain sense, I hit rock-bottom, so I learned a lot about myself. I think I'm better as a person and better as a football player because of it. This move is best for the Bears, best for the Redskins and best for me."
"I don't think there are many safeties who can do what I do underneath," said Archuleta, who made his reputation with the Rams as a run-stopper. "People like to say I can't cover. I don't believe it. I don't have a lot of interceptions, [but] I don't get beat a lot, [and] rarely was I out of position until last season.
"I'm looking forward to the fans of Washington actually seeing what I'm capable of doing and what I could have been doing in a Redskins uniform."
I wish Adam Archuleta well, though let's be clear. I think the Coaching Staff mishandled Adam Archuleta and he could've been more productive than he was. That said, he simply isn't a great coverage guy. He was an unproductive player on an incredibly weak secondary, so when he says his performance wasn't "really out of line" -- I agree! It was unfortunate for him personally that he became a scapegoat, but that doesn't mean he was unaccountable for what the defense wasn't doing.
For now on, Adam Archuleta is Chicago's problem. Again, I wish him well. If you are interested in following his career as a player, please go to Windy City Gridiron.
That said I have a feeling, should he succeed in Chicago, no story about Archuleta will ever fail to mention his time in Washington to take a (probably well deserved) shot at our team. I do not look forward to that.
Update [2007-3-23 11:55:59 by Skin Patrol]: Don't know how I missed this, also from the article (emphasis mine):
"The communication between me and certain members of the coaching staff was pretty nonexistent for the last few months of the season. I could air a whole bunch of different laundry. There's a lot more going on [at Redskin Park] than people understand."
