If there’s been one constant with the Chicago Bears over the years, it’s that they haven’t been able to hit at the quarterback position. Whether that was before Jay Cutler or all of the failures between him and Mitchell Trubisky, the Bears continue to search for their franchise quarterback.
Trubisky was supposed to be the answer to Chicago’s quarterback woes, but he’s proven to be just another statistic in their quarterback failures. He has one final season to prove he can miraculously turn things around, but first he’ll have to win the starting job over Nick Foles, who was brought in to compete and potentially replace Trubisky.
If Trubisky isn’t the guy, Foles isn’t the guy either. Foles appears to be more of a bridge to a new quarterback. Perhaps one in the 2021 NFL Draft. ESPN believes the Bears are among the teams that will be looking to draft a quarterback come 2021.
Many around the league expect the Bears to decline Trubisky’s fifth-year option, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Such a move would indicate the Bears have all but moved past Trubisky as a future starter. The Bears would face a significant cap hit for moving on from Foles before the 2021 season, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be shopping in the draft (again) for the next Sid Luckman.
Some of the quarterbacks expected to be available next year include Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, Texas’ Sam Ehlinger, Georgia’s Jamie Newman and Iowa State’s Brock Purdy.
While Lawrence most likely won’t be available for the Bears — he’s expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2021 — there are other options for Chicago, including some that might not be known yet. Look no further than Joe Burrow, who no one mentioned prior to last college football season and then played his way to a Heisman Trophy and the No. 1 overall pick.
Obviously, the hope is that Trubisky magically turns things around and becomes the franchise quarterback general manager Ryan Pace believed he could be. But, at this point, that’s more wishful thinking than realistic expectation.
So the Bears likely will be in the market for a quarterback heading into the 2021 NFL Draft.
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