Chicago Bears: What Should They Do at Quarterback?

As funny as it is, he isn’t wrong. Every fan has a perspective on the Bears quarterback room and who they should acquire. The crazy thing is, they all think they’re right! The problem is, a lot of those options aren’t possible.

The Bears Cap Situation

According to Spotrac.com, the Chicago Bears have roughly $24.5 in cap space. Some say the Bears should spend $17.5 million of their cap space on 32-year-old Andy Dalton while also possibly giving up one of their already limited draft picks. It’s safe to say, that is a bad idea. Now, if Dalton is cut, that is a different story. The Bears can pay him a small, team-friendly contract to come to compete with Trubisky.

Another player whose name is getting tossed around is Derek Carr. Like Dalton, Carr has a large cap hit that the Bears would have to pick up if they traded for him. Carr’s cap hit is around $20 million. Again, that leaves the Bears around $4.5 million to fill their other gaping holes. See where I’m getting at?

So Now What?

The problem is with the Bears limited cap space is that they don’t have a lot of options that could potentially beat out Trubisky. They can’t afford Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston, Tom Brady, or probably even Philip Rivers. So, now what do the Bears do?

Best Fit

Marcus Mariota is a great fit for the Chicago Bears organization. Mariota was a former second overall draft pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. He was expected to be the next big thing in the NFL. Unfortunately, Mariota flopped badly. This past season he had below a 60% completion and lost all five of his games for the Tennessee Titans. After that, it became the Ryan Tannehill show. In Mariota’s case, he needs an offense where he can run run-pass-options (RPO) frequently while also showing off his lightning speed and great athleticism. What’s a better fit for Mariota than Matt Nagy and new Offensive Coordinator Bill Lazor who loves to run the RPO? Mariota can sit behind Trubisky early on. If Trubisky struggles, he may have the chance to do to Trubisky what Tannehill did to him.

What If Mariota Isn’t Available?

If Mariota isn’t available, there are still plenty of options the Bears can do. This quarterback free agency is one of the deepest it’s ever been. There are plenty of proven veterans that can push Trubisky and step in if Trubisky goes down with an injury. Case Keenum who not too long ago lead the Vikings to the NFC Championship. Jeff Driskel stepped in for Matthew Stafford and performed decently. Kyle Allen was average and showed some flashes for the Carolina Panthers this past season. Even in the draft, the Bears can grab someone late such as Anthony Gordon or Cole McDonald. Mariota is probably just the best fit for this offense, but the Bears can realistically grab a variety of options to back up Trubisky.

To Wrap It Up…

We all won’t agree on who we want competing with Trubisky in training camp this summer, but we can all agree there are other holes the Chicago Bears need to address first to help a quarterback even have time to throw. Offensive linemen, a healthy tight end, a box safety, a second cornerback, and defensive line depth should all be ahead of quarterback competition for Trubisky this coming season. Obviously, the Bears can also address some of these issues in the draft, but they need veteran help at some of these positions. The limited cap space says the Bears should not be looking for a new starting quarterback this offseason and that should be supported 100%.

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