Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery has revealed that the club went to great lengths to keep their quest to sign defensive end Jared Allen silent.

Emery and Allen's agent Ken Harris met in Florida at the NFL Owners Meeting, and he admitted that he was forced to go to great measures to prevent a reporter from seeing them together.

Emery told reporters: "We knew to have it remain silent, we couldn't have anybody see us meet or shake hands, so we met at night away from the hotel.

"But Ken had come to meet us and we were standing out facing the parking lot and [the reporter] walked to [Bears contract negotiator] Cliff Stein and shook his hand.

"I grabbed Ken. I pulled him around and put him behind a post. And then [the reporter] walked off. No one saw Ken and we did that off campus."

Allen penned a four-year deal with the Bears.