Bears coach Lovie Smith conceded the Bears could seek help in the secondary. (Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)

I got a chance to catch up with Bears coach Lovie Smith for a few minutes at the NFL Annual Meeting while putting together a brief interview for Total Access later this week.

The Bears will be up on Monday during our State Of The Franchise segment, and this has obviously been another active offseason for the club, with the signings of DE Julius Peppers and LB Chester Taylor coming a year after the club traded for QB Jay Cutler.

Smith said that he is thrilled with the free-agent class brought in, but that the Bears continue to evaluate players and could well be active in acquiring help for the secondary.

The coaching staff is banking on Peppers’ pass-rushing prowess making everyone better in coverage, but Smith conceded more help could be needed on the back end. The Bears recently released veteran CB Nathan Vasher.

There are several corners with starting experience still on the market — Lito Sheppard and Phillip Buchanon among them — and restricted free agent FS O.J. Atogwe could be had via trade with the Rams as well.

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