http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...bears-headlines
On the other end of the phone is a voice from Chicago and Michael Turner knows what that means.
This time it's a reporter asking the San Diego Chargers running back whether he thinks about playing for the Bears once he becomes a free agent after the playoffs end.
But the question just as easily could have come from one of Turner's five brothers still in the area. Or some boyhood pals from North Chicago. Maybe a Northern Illinois buddy whose dream Bears backfield is Garrett Wolfe backing up Turner, like the good ol' days in DeKalb.
"I hear it all the time from people back home," Turner said the other day after practice preparing for Sunday's AFC playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts at the RCA Dome.
As the backup to All-Pro running back LaDainian Tomlinson, Turner may not get a single carry against the Colts yet no player in the playoffs this weekend merits closer watch for NFL fans in his hometown.
The Bears need to find a No. 1 running back this off-season, a fact many at Halas Hall have made clear. Turner will need a home and figures to be the best available in free agency.
You don't have to be a hopeless romantic to think this football marriage might deserve a shot. Posed the scenario he has heard often, the lifelong Bears fan chuckled.
"I can't control that stuff," Turner said. "I don't even know if the Bears would be interested. I can't afford to think about free agency right now. My focus is on the Indianapolis Colts."
That's the only answer his head can allow. It might sound different if Turner let his heart comment.
"I know he wouldn't mind coming back to Chicago because he has so much family and so many friends here and I think he's a little homesick out there," said Keith Turner, 23, Michael's younger brother.
He and twin brother Kevin work as assistant football coaches at North Chicago High School where "everybody talks about him coming home." The brothers will be among the 20 Turner family members making the trip down I-65 Sunday for the Chargers-Colts game.
"I get questions myself and I just say I don't know if the Bears would be interested," Keith Turner said. "It's wishful thinking."
The Bears have yet to establish an off-season wish list of free agents but it would be surprising if they at least didn't explore whether they could afford Turner. They are expected to have as much as $20 million to spend under the salary cap and general manager Jerry Angelo has hinted that finding a running back with big-play ability rates a bigger priority than revamping the offensive line.
Similar to a draft choice, the buzz revolves around Turner's potential more than his production. He only has gained 1,257 yards in four NFL seasons—78 fewer than Thomas Jones gained for the Bears in 2005 alone. But a career yards-per-carry average of 5.5 makes many a GM wonder what the 5-foot-10-inch, 237-pound runner with 4.4 speed in the 40-yard dash might do with 20 touches a game.
Rest assured one NFL team will pay Turner handsomely to find out.
In a relatively weak free-agent crop of running backs last year, Ahman Green signed with the Houston Texans for $23 million over four years with $6.5 million guaranteed and Dominic Rhodes signed with the Oakland Raiders for $7.5 million over two years. Turner, represented by Bus Cook, could be more expensive because teams like the Bears who similarly need a running back such as the Falcons, Texans, Raiders likely will inflate the market price. Among other running backs on the unrestricted free-agent list, Turner would be considered a bigger impact signing than, say, Julius Jones or Chris Brown.
He also will head to his next team with legs that are fresh and a hunger still not sated. "I've been ready," Turner said of the chance to be a feature back in an offense. "It's just a matter of being patient, disciplined. If you had asked me a few years ago, I'd have said I was ready too."
If Turner had not been backing up the best running back in the NFL, he might have been asked to prove it. But you might say "Burner Turner," has been on the back burner as a pro since getting that catchy nickname during his record-setting NIU career.
Tomlinson's durability only allowed for Turner carrying the ball either for short spells to give him a breather or late after the outcome was decided. Of Turner's 71 carries for 316 yards this season, for example, 39 came in the fourth quarter and 49 came with the Chargers leading by eight or more points, according to STATS.
"We actually tease him about it sometimes, like, 'Why do you even dress for games?' " Keith Turner said. "He takes it well and has never complained. He jokes that he doesn't get the ball a lot but still is considered an important part of the offense."
The Chargers deemed Turner important enough to tender him at the highest level last off-season to guarantee they would receive a first- and third-round draft choice from any team who signed him as a restricted free agent. Six teams talked to the Chargers about trading for Turner, who visited Tennessee and Buffalo.
In the end, Turner signed the one-year qualifying offer worth $2.35 million and returned to be Tomlinson's insurance policy. With the Chargers struggling early and Tomlinson finishing the season with the second-fewest number of carries in his career (315), Turner's workload also decreased.
His best game came Oct. 7 against Denver when he carried 10 times for 147 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown commemorated on YouTube for the type of game-breaking ability the Bears—and many other teams—crave.
"I really can't describe my role," said Turner, who also plays on punts and kickoffs. "I'm just another back on the team, one snap away. I was in a similar situation at Northern Illinois, having to wait [behind Thomas Hammock] before I got a chance. This is just a bigger stage in the NFL."
With the stage bigger than ever Sunday at the RCA Dome, Turner hopes this isn't his last appearance as Tomlinson's understudy. As much as he has prepared for the role, being cast as a star somewhere else can wait a few more weeks so the Chargers can thicken the AFC playoff plot.
"It's going to be tough leaving these guys because I have built great relationships in four years," Turner said. "But I guess moving on is all part of the business."
Ryan Grant is not a rookie... he was undrafted and spent two years on the Giants practice squad.
Turner also is much tougher to tackle. He reminds me of a young Jamal Lewis with more elusiveness and an extra couple of gears. Turner clearly has more talent than Jordan in my opinion, and I think he is going to be a stud as a starter. I never had that same thought about Jordan's talent.
A team no one is talking about that would be smart to make a play for Turner: New Orleans.Reggie Bush isn't the future feature back, and Deuce McAllister has just sustained too many injuries.
