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It’s no surprise that the Chicago Bears are expected to be big players in the quarterback market this offseason. Not for a franchise that has had one franchise quarterback in a century. Especially not for a franchise whose general manager and head coach are banking on a quarterback saving their jobs beyond 2021.
There are several avenues the Bears can take in locking down a quarterback from free agency to the NFL draft to the trade market. And it appears that are going to be a couple of prime quarterbacks on the trade block this offseason, including Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford.
NFL.com’s David Carr believes the Bears are one of six teams that are prime landing spots for Stafford. He says Chicago would probably have to give up two first-round picks to get it done.
Stafford donning a Bears uniform is hard to picture, and I’m not sure Detroit would trade within the NFC North. The Lions know Stafford, and playing against him twice each year doesn’t seem like something they’d welcome. Nonetheless, Stafford would fit well into the Bears’ offensive scheme and (finally) provide the Bears with consistent QB play — something pending free agent Mitchell Trubisky hasn’t been able to do. Making an upgrade at quarterback could allow the Bears to keep talented receiver Allen Robinson from signing elsewhere as a free agent and potentially bring in more offensive help.
Projected to be $10.7 million over the cap and not exactly in possession of a bounty of picks in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft, the Bears might need to get creative if they want to snag the QB. I, for one, would approve trading Khalil Mack back to the Raiders for a first-rounder, which would fall right into play for the Stafford trade. No, but seriously, GM Ryan Pace is under a lot of pressure this offseason to get this Bears team ready to win, and he’ll have to make a good amount of moves to make that happen. Let’s just hope he makes the right ones.
Hypothetically speaking, Stafford on the Bears would make them contenders for the NFC North and the postseason. Especially with a defense that’s primed to return to the scheme that made it a success in 2018.
But the Bears are tied to a decreasing salary cap, which means that it would take some real creativity from Pace to make cap space for the likes of Stafford. Not to mention Nick Foles, who is the only quarterback under contract with the Bears in 2021, is costing $21 million guaranteed.
Sure, it sounds ridiculous. Why would the Lions trade Stafford to one of their divisional rivals? But just about anyone can be bought for the right price. And Pace, who is pretty desperate with his job on the line in 2021, might just be willing to pay it.
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