LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears released eight-time Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers on Tuesday, one of several moves they made to reshape their struggling defence. The Bears also agreed to a five-year contract with former Oakland Raiders defensive end Lamarr Houston, a two-year contract with former Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants safety Ryan Mundy, and one-year deals with linebackers Jordan Senn and D.J. Williams. But the biggest move as they tried to shore up a defence that got shredded by injuries and ranked among the leagues worst last season involved Peppers. Given the way he struggled last season and the fact that his salary cap hit for next season was for more than $18 million, the Bears were expected to let him go or restructure his contract. "We appreciate Julius contributions to the Bears over the last four years," general manager Phil Emery said in a statement. "He was a leader on our defence starting every game since coming to Chicago. His accomplishments over his NFL career place him among the best defensive ends over the past 20 years. The Chicagoland community has benefited greatly from his quiet generosity. We wish him the best." Peppers is the second high-profile player to part ways with the Bears this off-season, joining record returner Devin Hester. Those moves come after they split with Brian Urlacher following the 2012 season. Peppers, who turned 34 in January, finished with just seven sacks, his lowest total in four seasons with Chicago and the fewest for him since he had a career-low 2 1/2 with Carolina in 2007. Three times last year he failed to register a tackle, and the Bears defence ranked among the worst in the NFL. But Peppers has been one of the best at his position during his career. In his 12 seasons with Carolina (2002-2009) and Chicago (2010-13), he ranks second in the NFL with 118 1/2 sacks. He has nine interceptions -- the most by a defensive lineman since 2002 -- and his 39 career forced fumbles are fifth most in the league during that time. On special teams, Peppers has 11 blocked kicks during his career. With the Bears, Peppers had 38 sacks along with three interceptions, nine forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries. But he was inconsistent last season. At times, he showed that old burst. Too often, he was a nonfactor. The defence, overall, was a mess for the Bears last season because of injuries and poor execution. Williams, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, and Henry Melton missed big chunks of the season. Nickel back Kelvin Hayden and defensive tackle Nate Collins also suffered season-ending injuries. And the Bears couldnt stop the run or get to the quarterback. Chicago allowed a league-high 5.3 yards per carry, half a yard more than any other team, and tied Jacksonville with an NFL-worst with 31 sacks. Houston started all 16 games last season for Oakland and was one of the few playmakers on a 4-12 team. He led the Raiders with a career-high six sacks and got 16 in four seasons with them. Mundy made a career-high nine starts with the Giants last season after spending his first four with Pittsburgh. He had 70 tackles and a 91-yard interception return along with two pass breakups and a fumble recovery. He also had seven special teams stops. Senn has appeared in 83 games with seven starts over six seasons with Indianapolis (2008-09) and Carolina (2009-13). He was primarily a special-teams player last season. Williams appeared in six games and made four starts at middle linebacker last season after signing a one-year deal with Chicago. A ruptured pectoral muscle tendon cut short his season. Kansas City Chiefs Khalen Saunders Jersey .com) - The Toronto Raptors are paying Rudy Gay a visit on Wednesday night when they head into the Sleep Train Arena to take on the Sacramento Kings. Discount Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys . But history aside, theyre still happy to participate in the Par 3 contest, traditionally held on the day prior to the first round of the Masters. http://www.cheapchiefs.com/. Not only that, when Julian de Guzman first stepped on the pitch for Deportivo de la Coruna he became the very first Canadian to play in Spains top tier. Kansas City Chiefs Juan Thornhill Jersey . He did one better Sunday by holing out a pitching wedge from 142 yards for eagle, capping a remarkable 28 on the back nine to win The Championship at Laguna National. Cheap Kansas City Chiefs Gear . -- Arizona came out of its last meeting with California a bit discombobulated, hurting from its first loss and the loss of forward Brandon Ashley for the rest of the season.TORONTO -- The Toronto Marlies have enjoyed plenty of success so far in the 2014 American Hockey League playoffs, sweeping their first two series to secure a spot in the Western Conference Final. But despite their perfect 7-0 post-season record, the Marlies wont be taking their next opponent, the Texas Stars, lightly. "We know were not going to win every game," said centre Peter Holland. "If we are going to make it to the Calder Cup (final) and were going to make a push like that, we know were not going to sweep the whole way through. Thats just not realistic." Texas (48-18-10) is the reigning Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winner with the leagues best regular season record. The Stars roster also boasts the leagues MVP in Travis Morin and Rookie of the Year in Curtis McKenzie. Morin leads the Stars in playoff scoring with two goals and eight assists in nine games, followed closely by Mike Heddens five goals and four assists. The series begins Friday in Cedar Park, Tex. The Stars, like the Marlies (45-25-6), swept their first round matchup against the Oklahoma City Barons and then used six games to dispatch the defending Calder Cup champion Grand Rapids Griffins. Marlies head coach Steve Spott was in Texas Sunday to see the Stars down the Griffins 7-1 in the series clincher. "Theyre the No. 1 team in the league, were an underdog, lets not kid ourselves, were an underdog," Spott said. "I sound like Bruce (Boudreau) right now in Anaheim, but we definitely are, were underdogs, we understand that, but weve been underdogs since Sept. 1 in this league." Spott, who was the head coach of the Kitchener Rangers from 2008-13 before joining the Marlies, has coached or coached against as many as six members of the Stars organization including forwards Radek Faksa and Hedden, both of whom played for the Rangers. "Theyve got depth, theyre well coached and its going to be a heck of a series," said Spott. "I think these are two premiere clubs in the league the way theyre playing right now and its going to be a tough series. I think weeve been searching for adversity.ddddddddddddI think were going to find it and its going to test our identity." The Marlies were 2-2-0 against the Stars this season losing both meetings at Cedar Park Center. Toronto was out-scored 11-2 in the losses. Spencer Abbott and Josh Leivo each had three points during the season series while Marlies leading playoff scorer Jerry DAmigo had two goals and Greg McKegg added three assists. Drew MacIntyre, who has a 1.56 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage in the post-season, appeared in all four regular season meetings, posting a 3.00 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. An area of concern against Texas could be Torontos power play, which went 1-for-14 during the season series. In the playoffs, though, the Marlies have the top-ranked power play among teams currently playing at 25 per cent efficiency. "Weve really got to make sure our special teams are on top of it cause they can win or lose you games at this time of the year," said Holland. "Weve got to make sure our power play is scoring goals for us and our penalty kill is stopping them." Holland, who has four goals and six points in four games after missing the first three playoff games to recover from injury, didnt play in the regular season series. Spott says Holland is a key ingredient to the power play. "When you drop in Holland and you drop in Abbott, your power play becomes a lot better," said Spott. "What we do is overrated sometimes. We can put in the plan, but theyve got to execute it. "When theres something not there, Peter Holland can create something so I think thats what makes the difference. " Game 2 of the series goes Monday in Texas before moving to Toronto for Games 3-5 beginning May 28 at Ricoh Coliseum. Notes: Defenceman Andrew MacWilliam (upper body), who was injured in Game 3 of the Chicago series, will be a game-time decision for Game 1. Spott said forward Tyler Biggs has been battling a stomach virus, which caused him to lose 11 pounds in a 24-hour period this week. 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