PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : The Refrigerator Is Closed by Bears

William (The Refrigerator) Perry, whose lumbering girth once made him a football folk hero, was released Tuesday by the Chicago Bears.

Perry has tumbled a long way since his rookie season in 1985, when he helped the Bears to a Super Bowl title and his weight of nearly one-fifth of a ton became a staple for comedy routines and television commercials.

He did not start a game this season and last Sunday was declared inactive for the first time. By releasing Perry before the second half of the season, the Bears saved $343,750, half his salary.

“The decision was not easy, particularly since he is a fine person and has been an excellent football player,” Coach Dave Wannstedt said. “It was something that had to be done.

Perry, once a garrulous celebrity but not talkative in recent years, was not available for comment.

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The New York Giants waived veteran punter Sean Landeta and replaced him with Mike Horan, one of Coach Dan Reeves’ former players at Denver. . . . The Cleveland Browns, who cut eight-year starter Bernie Kosar, signed Tom Tupa as a backup quarterback. Tupa was a third-round draft pick by the Phoenix Cardinals in 1988. . . . Washington put lineman Joe Jacoby on the injured reserve list, sidelining him for the season and probably bringing to a close the 13-year career of one of the original Redskin “Hogs.”