Chicago Bears Rumors: Sam Darnold trade now more possibleon March 27, 2021 at 12:00 pm

Jan 3, 2021; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold (14) walks alone on the sidelines during the second half of their loss to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

The chances of the Chicago Bears taking a quarterback in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft took a significant hit on Friday as the San Francisco 49ers completed a trade with the Miami Dolphins in order to move up to the third overall selection in the draft.

With the 49ers now holding the third overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, the expectation is the first three selections will involve one of the top five quarterback prospects.

After the Bears signed veteran free agent Andy Dalton to a one-year, $10 million contract, the expectation was that the Bears likely would not be selecting a quarterback in the first round. The issue with that is that there is a significant drop in the 2021 NFL Draft quarterback draft talent after Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Josh Fields, Trey Lance, and Mac Jones.

That is not ideal for the Bears as it is likely that Bears’ general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy likely want to find a long-term solution at the quarterback position this off-season if they have any hope of saving their jobs.

If Pace and Nagy do not want to hang the security of their jobs on a mid-round quarterback selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, is it possible that they would trade for one?

No, the Bears will not be trading for Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson.

Instead, could the Bears pull off a trade for New York Jets’ starting quarterback Sam Darnold?

Source: Jets are open to trading Sam Darnold without getting back a first-round pick.

— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaSports) March 26, 2021

This is not the first time that the Bears would be linked to Darnold this off-season. Darnold was rumored to be a potential Bears’ target earlier this off-season but early reports had the Jets seeking at least one first-round pick.

The question becomes what is the Jets’ true asking price for Darnold. The Jets are expected to take a quarterback with the second overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft and that would seemingly make Darnold expendable. Would that mean that the Bears would potentially be able to acquire Darnold for a third round selection and one of the compensatory sixth round picks that they were awarded? If so, that is a trade that Pace would at least have to entertain.

Darnold has yet to live up to his potential since being selected third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. Darnold has a career passer rating of 78.6 to go along with 45 touchdowns against 39 interceptions. While Darnold certainly can not be billed as a bust yet, acquiring the former USC product would be a risk.

A risk that Pace may be forced into taking given his inability to resolve the quarterback position since taking over as general manager of the team. The idea for the Bears acquiring Darnold would be to have him take the year and learn Nagy’s system while Dalton remains the team’s starting quarterback. The issue is that acquiring Darnold would almost certainly mean that the Bears would pick up his fifth-year option for 2022 that comes along with a $18.5 million cap hit.

Next: The Chicago Bears are incompetent

The Chicago Bears’ chances of selecting a quarterback in the first round 2021 NFL Draft may be slim but that does not mean that Pace won’t find a young quarterback like Darnold to sell as the solution.

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