It is always interesting when NFL franchises continue to make the same mistakes year after year. With all of the quarterback talent available during this NFL season, the Chicago Bears decided to address their signal-caller need with a half measure.
Chicago sent a fourth-round compensatory pick to Jacksonville in exchange for former Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Nick Foles.
Foles was expected to be the answer for Jacksonville when he signed last season, but an early-season injury provided rookie backup Gardner Minshew with an opportunity that he seized in a big way. The trade now gives the Jaguars 12 draft picks in the 2020 draft to build with.
Foles is widely respected around the league and considered to be a great locker room guy, but with the likes of Teddy Bridgewater, Philip Rivers, Cam Newton, and Ryan Tannehill on the market, why not just go for broke?
Given the talent on the defensive side of the football, the signing of a quarterback like Rivers would have made the Bears an instant title contender. Of course, Rivers heading to Indianapolis was the worst-kept secret in the league, but you have to shoot your shot. Even Bridgewater would have made this Bears group a playoff team.
Up For Grabs
Now, instead of a solidified starter going into the season, the Bears are diving headfirst into a quarterback competition on purpose? When has this ever been a good idea?
Coach Matt Nagy is assumed to be a Mitch Trubisky supporter, but this move would suggest the front office is open to heading in a new direction. Of course, they were only willing to go with a fourth-round pick for a 26-22 career quarterback who got really hot during a playoff run a couple of seasons ago. Again, half measure.
Foles is actually a fine quarterback on paper with 71 touchdowns against just 35 picks in 58 career games, but is he a significant upgrade over a quarterback in Trubisky, who has a higher career completion percentage and more yards per game? Do I think that Trubisky is better than Foles? Not necessarily.
Do I think Foles is a significant upgrade over Trubisky? Absolutely not. Do I think there is value in having either one of these quarterbacks as a backup in the same capacity that Bridgewater was in New Orleans? Absolutely.
The point is, there is a reason that the Bears are the Bears. Despite the outlier season of two years ago, the franchise has been stuck in the stone age.
Defense is important, there is no doubt about that, but every Super Bowl since 2004 has been won by a future Hall of Fame quarterback with a couple of exceptions.
The 2012 Baltimore Ravens and Joe Flacco are one, and, of course, the 2018 Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles, who were led by Foles.
I am not claiming to be smarter than any NFL general manager, but you can’t help but see a pattern among the NFL franchises that are winning Super Bowls and the teams that aren’t.
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