Benched, then later placed on the inactive list for the club's win Sunday over the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears safety Chris Harris has requested a trade with hopes the club can move him by the Tuesday trade deadline.

ESPNChicago.com first reported the news Monday morning, and Harris appeared on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000 later and confirmed the report.

"I requested a trade, I sure did," Harris said. "I don't know if I'll be traded or not. I've definitely requested one, and the trade deadline is tomorrow, so that's a very small window of time, so it's not to say anything is going to be done.

"And if nothing is done, I'll be here in Chicago for the remainder of this season. If my number gets called again, I'll go out there and ball out and it will be what it is."

Harris said if no trade is made, he won't ask for a release.

"If there's no trade made, I'm still going to be a Chicago Bear, and I'll go to work every day and conduct myself accordingly, the way I should and be professional about it," he said. "You can't have hard feelings in this business, because that's what it is, it's a business.

"Decisions are made, and they're not made emotionally. They're made from a business standpoint, and I get that. I understand that. I don't have any beef with the coaching staff. I don't think they have any beef with me. I just think they felt they needed a change, and obviously I wasn't part of that change."

Harris' agent Albert Elias told ESPN that he is glad the Bears decided to let his client seek a trade.

"(Bears general manager) Jerry Angelo and I just got off the phone. He's been a mentor and a father-figure to me. The fact that he's doing the right thing on Chris Harris' behalf by granting us an opportunity to explore a trade goes a long way with us," Elias said. "Lovie (Smith) has to make decisions that are in the best interest of the team and we understand and respect that.