After a promising sophomore season, Mitchell Trubisky gave Bears fans reason to believe they had found their franchise quarterback after thirty three years of inconsistent QB play (since Jim McMahon led the Chicago offense). But after a horribly disappointing third year, Bears fans are once again scrutinizing their QB, and the Bears are left with little choice but to bring in competition and hope Trubisky finally finds a consistent stride in year four.
My coverage of Chicago Bears offseason begins this week, where I will compile a short list of possible quarterbacks the Bears could bring in that will seriously challenge Trubisky, and can start if he does fail.
Andy Dalton
The Bears filled their offensive coordinator vacancy with Bill Lazor, Bengals offensive coordinator of three years (2016-2018), you know, when the Bengals could actually move the ball a little. Lazor has a good track record with quarterbacks, as Nick Foles’ 27 TD-2 INT season came with Lazor as his QB coach.
Additionally, Lazor coordinated the Miami offense when Ryan Tannehill had his best statistical season (prior to this year). He has also made Jamarcus Russell look like an average quarterback. Dalton is exactly what the Bears would want: a pocket passer with better accuracy, vision, and reading ability than Trubisky. Dalton could push for the starting spot and be very capable of starting and winning games.
Nick Foles/Gardner Minshew
Financially, Foles does not fit with the Bears. But as I mentioned earlier, Lazor has a good history with him. Additionally, new Bears quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo worked with Foles during his magical return to Philly in their Super Bowl season, when Foles won Super Bowl MVP. A trade would be necessary, and it is still unclear whether Jacksonville prefers Foles or Minshew. Chicago would need to make a trade if they wished to have one of these two.
Drew Brees/Teddy Bridgewater
Both of these Saints QBs are set to be free agents, and both played at a high level this season. Like Foles, Teddy Two Gloves may not financially fit with the Bears, and may even just be a system player anyhow. Brees has struggled as of late in the postseason, but with an offensive core and defense like Chicago boasts, Brees may be enticed to come to the Windy City and play on a relatively cheap one or two year deal.
Case Keenum
Keenum has proven he can win when surrounded with a great team. Matt Nagy and his revamped staff have a system that Keenum can excel in, and with a few tweaks to this offensive line, a dominant running game could be established next season. Pair that with Chicago’s vaunted defense, and the Bears could look a lot like the Minnesota Vikings of 2017, when Keenum led the offense to a 13-3 regular season and NFC Championship appearance.
Jake Fromm
Fromm is a player I have connected to the Bears in the past. While there have been no rumors of interest, Fromm does have the ability to be a win-now quarterback with his excellent short-to-intermediate accuracy, field vision, and ability to diagnose defenses. Fromm also has a mental toughness about him that I just love.
When he came to Georgia as a good-but-not-great recruit, he beat out 5-star recruit Jacob Eason for the starting job. A couple years later, 5-star recruit Justin Fields comes in and is the favorite to take the job, but again, Fromm prevailed. He is everything you want in an NFL QB, and could be available when the Bears first pick at 43rd overall.
Jacob Eason
After losing the job at Georgia, Eason transferred to Washington where he has had a ton of success. Eason has a great arm with fantastic short to intermediate accuracy and is just fine with the deep ball at the moment. He has good field vision and is poised in the pocket.
Other QBs
Utah State’s Jordan Love, Iowa’s Nate Stanley, Michigan’s Shea Patterson, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, and Washington State’s Anthony Gordon are all potential late round picks who provide high upside that the Bears could target to develop.
Sources
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/all/quarterback/
https://walterfootball.com/draft2020QB.php