LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears proudly introduced prized free-agent acquisitions Julius Peppers, Chester Taylor and Brandon Manumaleuna at a well-attended press conference Friday evening at Halas Hall.

The bold moves on the first day of free agency created a buzz throughout the NFL. But that’s not why general manager Jerry Angelo signed the defensive end, running back and tight end.

Bears free agent signees (from left) Chester Taylor, Julius Peppers and Brandon Manumaleuna meet the media Friday at Halas Hall.

“We weren’t looking to make a splash, we’re looking to win,” Angelo told reporters. “We felt like this gives us a better football team.

“We didn’t know for sure what players were going to be out there. These players could have signed with their home teams, so there was no crystal ball telling us this is what’s going to happen and this is what you have to do.

“We prepared for a lot of scenarios. This was one of the scenarios. Fortunately for us, it was the one we wanted to pursue first. It worked out for us.”

Peppers was widely considered the top free agent on the open market. A dominant defensive end, he was selected to five Pro Bowls in eight seasons with the Carolina Panthers, and his 81 career sacks rank third in the NFL since he entered the league in 2002 as a first-round draft pick.

“On the defensive side of the ball, we always look at the defensive line first,” Angelo said. “We felt that if we could find what we consider a top pass rusher that we would pursue that and just see where that would take us. We felt real good after we were able to talk to Julius’ agent, and there was somewhat of a feel good there.”

Peppers, 30, has registered at least 10 sacks in six of his eight NFL seasons, including a career-high 14 ½ in 2008 followed by 10½ in 2009. No Bears player has generated at least 25 sacks in back-to-back years since Super Bowl XX MVP Richard Dent had 25 in 1986-87.

The Bears have not yet determined whether Peppers will play left end or right end. But one thing coach Lovie Smith knows for certain is that the 6-7, 283-pounder will make a huge impact both with his play and how his presence will affect his fellow defensive linemen.

“For our defense to be successful, we have to be able to get pressure up front,” Smith said. “I am talking about with the four-man rush first, and then of course the blitz when we want to blitz.

Jerry Angelo smiles while listening to Lovie Smith address the media Friday at Halas Hall.

“But being able to generate pressure from the front four is huge. Julius will help all of our players. He’ll help Tommie Harris, he’ll help the rest of our inside players. He’ll help our defensive end and just make it better for our coverage and everything.”

Taylor, meanwhile, will bolster a running game that ranked 29th in the NFL last season. After rushing for a career-high 1,216 yards and six touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings in 2006, the 5-11, 213-pounder spent the past three years as Adrian Peterson’s primary backup.

It’s unclear at this time whether Taylor will supplant incumbent Matt Forte as the Bears starter, share the workload with the 2008 second-round pick or serve as a change-of-pace back.

“We just brought Chester in because we wanted to bring in another quality back,” Angelo said. “It’s nothing to do with pecking order. The players always determine that as well as the coaches.”

Manumaleuna is a nine-year NFL veteran who played for Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz with the St. Louis Rams from 2001-05. The 6-2, 295-pounder is one of the league’s best blocking tight ends.

“Brandon will give us a new dimension at the tight end position,” said Smith, who worked as Rams defensive coordinator during Manumaleuna’s first three seasons in St. Louis.

Before introducing the players to the media Friday, Angelo spoke about filling three needs in a single day and gave much of the credit to Cliff Stein, the Bears’ senior director of football administration.

“We had a pretty busy day today and we’re real excited with our new players,” Angelo said. “One thing we are mindful of is March is when you build. You don’t win in March, you build in March and we spent a lot of time after the season talking internally as we do every year about what direction we wanted to go into free agency, the draft, etc.”

While the Bears didn’t register a victory in the standings Friday, it was still a great day for the franchise.

“I think your best days are when you actually win and win a championship, but I think you have to have days like today where you improve your ballclub,” Smith said.

“I think everyone would say that the players we added will help us have better days ahead. So of course it’s a great day which will lead up to that ultimate day."