Devin Hester wants a “fresh start”

Bears return man Devin Hester has been frustrated this offseason, and said he might need a “fresh start” to make football fun again.

Hester told Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune he wanted to play a few more years, even if it is somewhere other than Chicago.

“I’m going to try to get two or three more years in,” the 30-year-old Hester said. “I think I have that much left in me.

“At the same time, I think I do need a fresh start.”

Hester has a year left on his contract, but seemed more frustrated with his lack of action on offense. He caught 57 passes in 2009, but just 23 last season.

“Not only this year, but the last couple of years it has been like that,” Hester said. “It was really starting to show, why I was frustrated.

“I’m not making any excuses. I know some of the plays I should have made in terms of catching the ball. But I just wasn’t feeling it. My mind wasn’t there the majority of the time.”

He called a trade “a possibility,” but said if he returns to the Bears, he’s willing to just return.

“To be honest with you, if I’m still here, I don’t want to play offense,” he said. “I don’t think my role [on offense] will fit. I can’t truly say that with the new offense, but from past experience, I don’t think it will fit. . . .

“If I’m here, I want to bring another Super Bowl title to this city. I love the fans and the support. But I don’t want to play this game like I have the last couple of years — not having fun.”

It’s clear that Hester’s issues go far beyond the firing of head coach Lovie Smith, and will be something the Bears need to decide if they want to work on fixing, or just move on from the aging return specialist.


(profootballtalk.com)