Lance Briggs retires (probably) to join CSN Chicago's Bears coverage

An opportunity on the field didn't materialize for Lance Briggs this offseason, but it's not a big surprise that he had a new job waiting for him away from the game.

The popular longtime Chicago Bears linebacker has retired to join CSN Chicago's Bears coverage this season. He already had a head start — he has made appearances on CSN since 2010.

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But about the retirement thing. When he appeared in the Chicago Cubs' broadcast booth on Wednesday afternoon, he did leave the door open to come back in the right situation.

"Here's the thing with that: I haven't filed my papers yet but I'm ready to get behind the camera," Briggs said on the broadcast. "Now if somebody called me and said 'Hey Lance, we'd like you to come play football,' I'm going to say I'm happily retired. If they say 'Hey Lance, we're going to offer you this,' I'm going to say, 'There's a good chance you've got a new football player.'"

Then Briggs doubled down on the "I'm not retired yet!" talk with a Sqor.com post:

"Ahem! I have not filed any papers," Briggs wrote. "I have NOT offically retired. However, I am excited to begin the next phase of my life, and will make an official decision in the coming weeks!!"

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Briggs shouldn't have many regrets if nobody calls offering him a boatload of money to come back. Briggs played 12 seasons, all with the Bears, and made seven Pro Bowls. He (likely) finishes with 1,173 tackles, 15 sacks and 16 interceptions. 

"I'm really happy with my career and with the way it's gone," Briggs said on the Cubs broadcast. "I'm happy I can walk away healthy."

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab