Updated April 1, 2010 @1:55 p.m. ET

Veteran starting DE Alex Brown was released by the Bears April 1 — for better or worse. According to many close to the team, the Bears could be a lot worse off without Brown, whose base salary of $5 million that he would have received in 2010 made him a luxury the team decided it could not afford after breaking the bank to obtain high-profile free-agent DE Julius Peppers to the tune of $20 million this offseason.

The Bears appear ready to replace Brown with the combination of Mark Anderson, whose production has been ordinary at best since a very impressive 12-sack rookie campaign in 2006, and former swing man Israel Idonije.  Not only do more than a few team insiders question the wisdom of cutting the cord with Brown, who was an extremely steady and reliable starter (at least six sacks in five of the past six seasons). They also believe Brown's impact in the locker room will be sorely missed.

We hear the Bears have never been higher on Anderson, particularly new defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, who reportedly raved in the team's postseason meetings over the way the former fifth-round draft pick came on last season. "But the last time the Bears decided to promote Anderson (in 2007), he failed miserably in the starting role," noted one team insider. "To me, the whole thing just doesn't make a lot of sense."

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