It has been a roller-coaster of a ride for Chicago Bears fans already this offseason.
From rumors of a possible trade for Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson, to being linked to the likes of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Gardner Minshew, and now Andy Dalton, it’s hard to get your head around Ryan Pace’s approach.
To put it kindly, Pace is taking a “spaghetti at the wall” approach. In other words, he is throwing spaghetti (or some other substance if you prefer) at the wall and seeing what sticks. Unfortunately, this is the consequence of failing to adequately address the position during his tenure and now being in a desperate position to save his job.
Desperation can make a person do some wild things, including convincing yourself that Andy Dalton could be the quarterback to save your job. But to even the most casual observer, the rumors that Dalton could soon wind up in Chicago, make little to no sense.
According to a tweet from Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, a league source believes Dalton could be on his way to the Windy City and might be the next quarterback domino to fall.
Adding Andy Dalton makes little sense for the Chicago Bears
For the moment, let’s put aside the fact that Dalton is a below average quarterback who is unlikely to be a difference-maker at the position. Despite that, it’s hard to understand why Pace would bring him on board when he is already paying Nick Foles, a quarterback of similar quality.
Foles is set to get paid about $7 million this year, and cutting him would result in a dead cap hit of about $10 million, so that doesn’t seem to be an option. Even if you can get Dalton for a similar amount, what sense would it make to pay two backup quality quarterbacks approximately $15 million this season?
Signing Dalton wouldn’t solve their quarterback problem, so all they would have done was add more salary to the roster for absolutely no reason. Look, if they’re trying to throw away $7 million, they can Venmo it to me instead of wasting it on another terrible quarterback.
Now Biggs doesn’t think signing Dalton would preclude the Bears from still taking a big swing at the quarterback position, but with what money? If they are planning to still pursue Wilson, they are going to need every dollar they can scrounge together.
Look, the only way this could even remotely make sense is if they have a deal to move Foles after signing Dalton, but is Dalton, who is unfamiliar with the offense and physically limited, really an upgrade over Foles? If he is, it’s not by much.
Unfortunately, this is the position Pace finds himself in. He’s desperate and frantic to make a move, but that’s a recipe for disaster. If he can’t land Wilson or Watson, it’s best to focus on the draft, select the best player available, and try to convince George McCaskey to give him another season to find his quarterback. That might sound crazy, and undesirable, but for him, it’s better than putting your job in the right arm of Andy Dalton. And while fans won’t like it, it probably won’t be hard sell to George McCaskey.
