Following a disappointing 2019 season, no one has much confidence in the Chicago Bears. Except maybe themselves.
Even after this early wave of free agency, where the Bears signed pass rusher Robert Quinn and tight end Jimmy Graham, as well as traded for quarterback Nick Foles, not many have Chicago pegged for a bounce-back year.
Which is evident in NFL.com’s post free agency/trade power rankings, where the Bears dropped five spots to No. 22.
The Bears did what everyone expected, bringing in a veteran name brand to compete with Mitch Trubisky. That veteran is Nick Foles, the former Super Bowl MVP who endured a nightmarish (but very lucrative) one-season stint with the Jaguars. Trubisky will likely enter training camp as the presumed starter, but holding off Foles will be much more difficult than fending off Chase Daniel was a year ago.
Put it this way: There’s a very good chance Foles ends up starting more games next year than the former first-round pick hypothetically ahead of him on the depth chart. The Robert Quinn signing was … fine. The move to bring in 33-year-old Jimmy Graham, who did next to nothing with Aaron Rodgers throwing him spirals, makes you wonder if GM Ryan Pace will ever figure out the tight end position.
The criticisms are no different from what we’ve heard over the last few months. The Bears didn’t make the quarterback position significantly better with the addition of Nick Foles, who will battle with Mitchell Trubisky for the starting job.
Chicago’s offense continues to be plagued by the tight end position, which is key in Matt Nagy’s offense. So it hasn’t helped that Bears tight ends were collectively among the worst in the NFL last season. Bringing in Graham, while na upgrade, doesn’t exactly cure their tight end woes.
Surprisingly, offensive line wasn’t mentioned as an area of concern. While the Bears added former first-round pick Germain Ifedi, who will likely compete for the starting right guard job, some of the same issues remain.
Ultimately, any questions surrounding the Bears are regarding the offense, not the defense. Until Chicago can find stability on offense, they’re going to be battling criticism and other NFL teams in their pursuit of a return to the playoffs.
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