Inside the Halas Hall auditorium, the sound of Patrick McCaskey's rendition of "Edelweiss" from "The Sound of Music" brought out a few snickers and scattered applause.
"Ur-lach-er, Ur-lach-er, we hope you play for-ev-er," McCaskey hummed.
For a brief moment, Brian's song took on a whole new meaning.
The face of the franchise continues to frown upon the Bears' offer of a one-year extension worth $5 million up front. But Urlacher tried to keep a smile for an hour Thursday after being named the team's veteran recipient of this year's Brian Piccolo Award. Tight end Greg Olsen was the rookie honoree.
Urlacher's unexpected cameo included only references to the award, given to the players exemplifying courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor -- attributes of the late Bears running back who died in 1970 from a rare form of cancer. Urlacher, who also won the award as a rookie in 2000, is the sixth player in team history to win the award multiple times and the fifth to pull the rookie-veteran double.
"This is a great honor for me, to receive this award again," he said. "The Piccolos are a great family. We know what Brian stood for. It's also wonderful award to have the opportunity to be a part of because it's a chance we get, as teammates, to honor one or another."
Urlacher went on to thank the McCaskey family and his teammates. After posing for a few snapshots following Pat McCaskey's solo, Urlacher left the auditorium side door without a mention of his contract.
Coach Lovie Smith was peppered with questions about his star middle linebacker's absence from voluntary workouts and his contract situation.
"Right now, he has missed a few voluntary workouts," Smith said. "But we have had some other players who have missed some voluntary workouts. It was a good to see him. I haven't actually gotten the chance to see him in person like this. He's working out [and] he's expecting to have a better year than he had last year."
Smith was asked if he had pulled Urlacher to the side and encouraged him to get the deal done.
"This is about the Brian Piccolo Award," he responded. "Brian came and showed his respect to the family. What more can you ask from a guy?"
Smith talked about signing receiver Rashied Davis to a three-year deal Wednesday, which included a $1.1 million signing bonus. "He's another important part of the success we've had here," Smith said. "It has been documented how Rashied has made it to where he is today. He does a lot for our football team in a lot of different ways. We're excited to have him be around for a while."