Notre Dame offensive lineman Alex Bars speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting ... [+]

ASSOCIATED PRESS

It's not often that the Bears win a round against the Patriots.

Sure, they did it in New Orleans in Super Bowl XX, but that's a long time ago. So it probably felt good for the McCaskey family that Ryan Pace's front office was recently able to prevent a defection from their practice squad to New England's 53-man roster.

With starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn on Injured Reserve, the Patriots have been looking to upgrade a thin offensive line. The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs reports they offered Alex Bars, an undrafted rookie offensive lineman from Notre Dame, a roster spot and a full rookie salary but the Bears worked out an agreement to keep him in the wings.

Bars, a part of a highly decorated Notre Dame line, was expected to be a middle-round draft choice before suffering a torn ACL last September. The Bears pounced on him immediately after the draft and have been impressed by his recovery. He's a known quantity with the Bears' second-year offensive line coach, Harry Hiestand, who was hired from Notre Dame, but it took a negotiation to stop Bars from exercising his right to accept a full-time job.

Bars told Biggs he didn't want to comment on the process but the Tribune reports the Bears gave him a raise from the $8,000 a week he's earning on the practice squad to the rookie minimum salary of $495,000. The Bears' initial offer had guaranteed him only $40,000.

"I am getting better every week," Bars told Biggs. "I am getting stronger and going against the best defense in the league helps. Being able to do that and getting all of that work in the weight room has helped. I'm just working to get as strong as possible. You see these guys here and you're trying to emulate their strength and their ability to play. So, just trying to do that."

Had Bars taken the offer from New England, he would have served as a backup on coach Dante Scarnecchia's line. That would almost certainly have meant a trip to the postseason and possibly a shot in the Super Bowl.

But Bars seems likely to move onto the Bears' 53-man roster when a spot opens up and could compete for the starting job at right guard next season if the team decides against exercising its option to keep Kyle Long, a seventh-year starter whose health is a recurring issue.

Veteran backup Ted Larsen will be a free agent after the season. The Bears like backup Rashaad Coward but the overture from the Patriots speaks to Bars' potential. His decision to stay in Chicago must speak loudly to Pace, Hiestand and the Bears' management team.

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