Seven weeks ago Alonzo Spellman stormed out of a meeting in coach Dave Wannstedt’s office, enraged at the prospect of being traded. Then he threatened to retire.
Thursday night, for reasons known only to him, Spellman did not show up for the start of the Bears’ first mandatory mini-camp.
“We’ve been unsuccessful in our attempts to contact Alonzo,” Bears vice president Mark Hatley said.
Spellman was at the Daley Center Thursday for a hearing regarding his divorce but did not report as required Thursday night. Whether he will be subject to a fine by the team has not been determined.
With Spellman’s status questionable at best, the Bears are expected to talk further with free-agent defensive end Clyde Simmons, whose asking price of $2 million-plus has been more than the Bears, St. Louis Rams and others were willing to spend.
The Rams, Cowboys, Packers and several other teams looking for defensive line help addressed those needs in last weekend’s draft, meaning that Simmons’ market has shrunk. The issue with the Bears is still price, “but we definitely have an interest,” said Simmons’ agent, Jim Solano.
Earlier Thursday, the lawyer for Spellman’s wife, Lizzie, said the couple has worked out a tentative divorce agreement.
“It’s an equitable resolution to an unhappy situation,” said Bernard Rinella, who added that the settlement should be finalized in the next few weeks.
The Spellmans were in court on a request from Lizzie Spellman to extend a temporary restraining order against her husband, which a judge extended for an additional 30 days. Rinella said as a preliminary part of the agreement each party will receive $75,000 from their assets, which exceed $1.4 million.
Rinella said he expected both parties to agree to the terms of the divorce. Rinella said the negotiations were “fairly amicable.”