The Bears will be in the market for a veteran quarterback this offseason, and there have been no shortage of names mentioned in conjunction with Chicago’s quarterback search.
Chicago is believed to have interest in trading for Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, who would fit the bill as an experienced veteran quarterback that’s not necessarily an upgrade from incumbent starter Mitchell Trubisky.
While bringing in Dalton would indeed provide a push for Trubisky, he wouldn’t be brought in to replace Trubisky. And given the Bears are intent on giving Trubisky one more season to prove himself, this might be the ideal situation.
The Bears appear to be seeking to replicate what the Titans had in place last season with Marcus Mariota and Ryan Tannehill. They gave Mariota one last chance to prove himself, but they had insurance on deck just in case. That proved to be a good move on Tennessee’s part, as Tannehill replaced an ineffective Mariota and led the Titans to the AFC Championship Game.
While it’s unrealistic to expect a similar result in Chicago with whoever winds up being Trubisky’s backup, the Bears clearly want a fail-safe should the Trubisky experiment sour again in Year 4.
If the Bears were to trade for Dalton, they would have to take on his $17.7 million contract for this year, but they wouldn’t be tied to him longer than one season. Although word is the Bengals are reportedly seeking a second or third round pick for Dalton’s services.
But if Chicago is seeking an experienced veteran to back-up Trubisky, there are other veteran options poised to hit the free agent market they could target — and some that would ultimately be upgrades over Trubisky.
Obviously a popular connection between Dalton and the Bears is new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, who worked with Dalton in Cincinnati. But Dalton’s numbers weren’t anything to rave about in 2017 and 2018. He had a 60.7 completion percentage, averaged 6.8 yards per attempt, threw for 46 touchdowns versus 23 interceptions, and a 87.9 passer rating.
But when you examine the potential cost for Dalton, should the Bears pursue the veteran quarterback?
What do you think? Should the Bears be all-in on Dalton this offseason? Or should they target another cost-effective veteran to challenge Trubisky?
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