The Chicago Bears don’t exactly have the best quarterback situation in the NFL. In fact, there are several that have ranked the Bears among the worst in the league with Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles, who will battle for the starting spot in training camp and preseason.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano ranked the different marriages between NFL clubs and their starting quarterbacks. And, as what shouldn’t come as a surprise, the Bears ranked among the worst at No. 29 with Trubisky and Foles.
Considering the competition for the starting job hasn’t started yet, ESPN lists Trubisky as the current starter and ranked him in the “prove-it time” tier, which accurately describes Trubisky’s fourth and possibly final year in Chicago.
The Bears will pay the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 draft about $4.4 million in 2020 but owe him nothing beyond that. The team declining the fifth-year option means Trubisky is scheduled to be a free agent next spring. He has to play for his next contract.
Then there’s Foles, who was brought in to challenge and possibly replace Trubisky as the starter. While Foles restructured his contract as part of the trade between Chicago and Jacksonville, the Bears are still financially tied to him longer than just 2020.
As for Foles, Chicago is financially married to him for longer. He has guaranteed salaries of $4 million this year and next, a guaranteed roster bonus of $4 million next year, and $1 million of his 2022 salary is guaranteed. So the Bears will pay Foles $17 million over the next three years no matter what happens, and more if he turns out to be their starter.
Cutting Foles next spring wouldn’t crush them from a cap standpoint ($10.3 million dead money), but they’d still have to pay him. His contract is far more tradable now than it was when the Bears acquired him from Jacksonville.
There’s a possibility that neither Trubisky or Foles will be the Bears’ quarterback beyond 2020. Whether that’s because Foles wins the job, has a strong season and opts out of his contract with Chicago (which was part of the restructuring) to find a big pay-day elsewhere or the Bears draft their next potential quarterback of the future in 2021.
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