Brendan Bigelow to declare for NFL draft

With the deadline to declare today, it appears that Brendan Bigelow snuck in a last second decision -- he will be joining Khairi Fortt, Kam Jackson, Richard Rodgers and Viliami Moala as an early entrant to the draft.

Though it is undoubtedly tough to lose such an electrifying talent, Bigelow's loss doesn't hurt nearly as much now that the Bears have Vic Enwere and -- hopefully -- Tre Watson in the fold for next season. The depth at slot receiver will not see a noticeable downgrade either. Bigelow never truly put it together in the Blue and Gold, hampered by injuries and general inconsistency whenever he saw the field. It took until the second last game of this season before he scored his first touchdown, for example.

Perhaps that was much a motivating factor as any -- another year meant another chance to get injured, which he simply could not afford.

Whatever the case, good luck, Brendan. We'll always have Columbus.