LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears on Tuesday bolstered a position that’s been decimated by injuries by signing veteran linebacker Cato June to a one-year contract. Terms were not disclosed.

Cato June, a seventh-year pro, will provide veteran depth at linebacker for the Bears.

The 6-foot, 229-pounder has appeared in 88 games with 73 starts in six NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts (2003-06) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2007-08), amassing 498 tackles, 12 interceptions, one sack, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

“He’s been a good player in the league for a long time,” said coach Lovie Smith. “We felt like we needed some more depth at the linebacker position, and this was a great option.”

With Lance Briggs exiting Sunday’s loss in Minnesota with a knee injury, all three Bears linebackers who opened the season as starters have now been hurt. Brian Urlacher was lost for the season with a dislocated wrist in the opener in Green Bay and Pisa Tinoisamoa suffered a season-ending knee injury Oct. 18 in Atlanta.

The extent of Briggs’ injury is not known, though it is not believed to be season-ending.

June was chosen by the Colts in the sixth round of the 2003 draft out of Michigan. He had 104, 102 and 142 tackles in three seasons as a starter, and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2005. He appeared in eight playoff games with seven starts for the Colts, compiling seven tackles in Super Bowl XLI against the Bears.

June, 30, should be able to make a smooth transition with the Bears given that he played in a similar cover-two scheme with both the Colts and the Buccaneers.

“Being able to come in and understand exactly what people are saying about the concepts and the scheme should help me a great deal,” June said. “It probably would have been a little difficult to do that, especially at first, without that type of background and familiarity, so this will be a good fit.”

June’s orientation started Tuesday evening when he met with linebackers coach Bob Babich for more than an hour.

“It's late in the year, and it helps if someone’s played in our system and believes in the system, which he does,” Smith said. “The terminology is a little bit different. But we’ll catch him up, and he should be able to jump right in and know what’s going on right away.”

June thought he’d be playing in Houston this season. He signed a one-year contract with the Texans in April. But he broke his forearm Aug. 20 in training camp and was released with an injury settlement two weeks later.

“It’s been frustrating, sitting back and waiting to get cleared to play,” he said. “You don’t think things are going to go like that. But at the same time, you’ve got to stay patient, stay focused, and be ready when your opportunity comes.”

In other news Tuesday, the Bears terminated the practice squad contract of defensive end Joe Clermond.