LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The NFL version of “Midnight Madness” kicked off late Thursday night when the league’s free agency period began at 11:01 p.m. Chicago time.

General manager Jerry Angelo indicated last Friday that the Bears would enter free agency with an open mind and an open checkbook. But just how active they’ll be will be determined by what’s available on the open market.

General manager Jerry Angelo and the Bears are ready for free agency.

“It just depends on the player,” Angelo said. “We’ve determined what we feel our needs are, we determine what positions we want to continue to create competition at, and then we’ll determine based on who the players are how aggressive we’re going to be.”

With the NFL heading into free agency without a salary cap for the first time, some expect free-spending teams such as the Washington Redskins to drive up the prices of certain players.

Nevertheless, the Bears are confident that they will be able to compete in the free-agent marketplace.  

“We have the resources to do what we need to do,” Angelo said.

While some criticize the Bears for not spending money on players, that knock is a myth. According to ESPN.com, the Bears had the fifth highest payroll in the NFL last season at $120,672,112.

“Every year since I have been here, whether there has been a salary cap or no salary cap, we have always had a competitive budget,” said Bears president and CEO Ted Phillips.

Phillips recently was criticized for saying that the Bears wouldn’t go “hog wild” in free agency. But that statement was taken out of context. He used that phrase in a lengthy explanation about why the NFL labor situation wouldn’t impact the Bears because they don’t rely solely on free agency to build their team.

Here’s what Phillips said in full: “It doesn’t really play a big role other than the fact that we are not going to be one of those handful of teams that just goes hog wild in free agency. I think you guys know our strategy has always been balanced in free agency and through the draft and any other avenue to try to add players to the team.

“It’s not just about free agency. I think that the reality is that team success, at least in the NFL, has shown that it is not based on what you spend in free agency.”

The Bears believe in rewarding their own players and building with their draft picks—whether those picks are used in the draft or to acquire an established pro such as quarterback Jay Cutler.

Their philosophy was evident in their ability to re-sign the core of their team to contract extensions. It’s a group that included Pro Bowlers Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, Devin Hester and Robbie Gould as well as key contributors Charles Tillman and Desmond Clark.

When the Bears have identified a free agent to fill a need in past years, they’ve acted quickly and spared no expense, targeting and signing running back Thomas Jones, offensive tackle John Tait and wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad.

This year, the Bears are expected to consider addressing their defensive end and free safety positions in free agency. Top defensive ends include the Panthers’ Julius Peppers, the Packers’ Aaron Kampman and the Titans’ Kyle Vanden Bosch. Free safeties expected to be available include the Cardinals’ Antrel Rolle, the Saints’ Darren Sharper and the Steelers’ Ryan Clark.

Asked if the Bears would be able to offer a huge contract to a free agent, Phillips said: “Within the context of what our budget is, I think we have a lot of flexibility.”

This year’s free-agent pool won’t be very deep. With no new collective bargaining agreement, the number of accrued NFL seasons required for a player to reach the unrestricted market increased from four to six. As a result, 212 players who would have been unrestricted free agents in previous years will be restricted.

While the Bears are committed to improving via free agency, they’re not putting all of their eggs into one or two baskets. If they don’t end up signing a player in the first few days of free agency, that doesn’t mean that they won’t be able to address their needs.

In recent years, they’ve acquired key contributors via trades (Cutler and Adewale Ogunleye), as street free agents (Robbie Gould and Tim Shaw), off other teams’ practice squads (Devin Aromashodu and Nick Roach) and several weeks into free agency (Anthony Adams and Roberto Garza).