LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears on Friday released three players, including veteran wide receiver Marty Booker.

Booker, 32, returned for his second stint with the Bears last March, signing a two-year contract. But he caught just 14 passes for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2008, appearing in 13 games with five starts while battling injuries.

The highlight of Marty Booker's 2008 season was this 51-yard TD catch in a 48-41 win over the Vikings.

Booker spent his first five NFL seasons with the Bears, arriving as a third-round draft pick in 1999. He set a franchise record with 100 catches in 2001, and then was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2002 after registering his second straight 1,000-yard season while making 97 receptions.

The Bears traded Booker to the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 21, 2004 along with a third-round draft pick in exchange for defensive end Adewale Ogunleye.

Booker caught 194 passes for 2,627 yards and 11 TDs in four seasons in Miami before being waived by the Dolphins. He signed with the Bears after also attracting interest from the New England Patriots.

Booker is tied with Curtis Conway for third in Bears history with 329 receptions, trailing only Hall of Famer Walter Payton (492) and Johnny Morris (356).

Booker holds the Bears record with 60 consecutive games with at least one reception, a streak that was snapped in a Week 3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Bears also released linebacker Gilbert Gardner and waived linebacker Marcus Riley.

Gardner was signed to the 53-man roster Dec, 12 and made his Bears debut in the season finale in Houston. Prior to his arrival, he had appeared in 52 NFL games with the Colts (2004-06), Titans (2007) and Lions (2008).

Riley spent the last three weeks of the regular season on the Bears practice squad after entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Packers and spending the preseason with the Rams.