Tommie Harris insists he was just kidding around when he told TV reporters in Philadelphia last weekend that the Bears would have a better chance to win the Super Bowl with Donovan McNabb as their quarterback.
The joke went over like an intercepted pass returned for a touchdown when Bears quarterback Rex Grossman heard about it.
As expected, Harris found himself apologizing to Grossman and the rest of his teammates for striking a nerve that was already frayed following Grossman’s enigmatic 2006 season.
Fending off critical media and fans is hard enough for Grossman. Now one of his own teammates?
“I will be careful the next time I joke around,” Harris said Monday in Lake Forest. “Donovan was behind the camera laughing. We were joking around, and it escalated to more than what it was.
“I apologized to the rest of my team. I was very embarrassed with how much it blew up with the media. My team forgave me, so that’s all that matters.”
Grossman, who at first did not want to comment, tried to downplay the incident.
“I know Tommie, and we have a great relationship,” Grossman said. “It was not that big a deal. He’s my guy.”
Harris, a few feet away, responded by saying, “He’s my guy.”
BEARS HITS
There will be no homecoming this fall for Naperville’s Chris Brown. Brown, a free-agent running back with a 1,000-yard season on his NFL resume, passed up a chance to play with the Bears. He instead has agreed in principle on a one-year, $1.8 million deal to return to the Tennessee Titans, according to espn.com.
– The Bears wrap up organized team activities this week before reporting July 26 for training camp in Bourbonnais.
