We’ve continued over the past couple of days to try to find out what precisely went down between the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears regarding the whole Lance Briggs thing, which culminated this week in a finding that the Niners must forfeit a fifth-round pick and flip-flop third-round selections with the Bears.

It generally has been difficult to track down information, and much of what we’ve obtained has been on “background” (a term that we still don’t fully understand because we aren’t, you know, actual journalists).  But we’ve picked up one interesting nugget from multiple sources regarding the changes that would have been made if Briggs had been shipped to the 49ers.

Specifically, we’re told that middle linebacker Brian Urlacher had been told that he’d be moving to Briggs’ position of weakside linebacker.

The disclosure apparently was made to Urlacher while the trade was still a possibility, before the Bears and the 49ers realized that the failure of Briggs to sign his one-year franchise tender prior to July 15 prevented the 49ers from signing Briggs to a long-term deal. 

We’ve also heard from multiple sources that the Bears proceeded with tampering charges not because they hoped to scare the Niners away from pursuing Briggs in free agency, but because the Bears believed that, once Briggs learned of the failed trade, his performance decreased dramatically. 

It’s still unclear how Briggs found out about the failed trade.  Some presume that his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told him about it.  Others believe that, once coach Lovie Smith told Urlacher that he’d be changing positions, word of the looming transaction inevitably got around the locker room.

Though we’ve accepted the fact that it will be impossible to determine the precise evidence that supported a finding of tampering, we’re still troubled by the fact that the Niners apparently got in trouble for attempting to work out a new contract with Rosenhaus in conjunction with a trade that would have sent a first-round pick to the Bears in exchange for Briggs’ services. 

Surely, the Bears didn’t think that the 49ers would give up a first-round draft pick for the ability to rent Briggs for the balance of the 2007 season, with no guarantee that they’d retain his services for 2008.  So even is the Bears didn’t formally grant the Niners permission to talk to Rosenhaus, it was at least implied that an effort would be made to get Briggs’ agreement on a new contract, especially if the trade talks were unfolding not long before the deadline for doing a deal.