The Chicago Bears did what some of us expected them to do this offseason.
They underwhelmed once again at the quarterback position. Sure the rumors about the Bears potentially trading for Russell Wilson existed but Chicago instead landed Andy Dalton.
When speaking with the media on Friday, Pace doubled down on Dalton as the Bears starter for 2021. However, history tells us a different story about how much the Bears really believe in Dalton.
Don’t believe Ryan Pace about the Chicago Bears quarterback situation.
History tells us a different story. Five offseason’s ago, Chicago signed Mike Glennon to a three-year deal but then nearly a month later drafted Mitchell Trubisky. At the time, Pace doubled down again, saying that Chicago believed in Glennon and that he was the starter, despite Trubisky waiting in the wings.
Sure the Bears situation has changed compared to 2017. Five years ago, Chicago was in the middle of a rebuild, with the Pace and the Bears have enough salary cap space and draft capital to be able to make a number of moves. Essentially, the Bears were a young team on the rise.
Circumstances can change quickly in the NFL. Now, the Bears have an aging defense and arguably an offense with a number of questions. Combine that with a limited number of resources in the 2021 NFL Draft and it’s clear that Chicago has little room for error.
It’s difficult to see the Bears heading into 2021 with only Dalton as the starter. Veteran Nick Foles will likely be on the roster as well, which means that unless Chicago plans to have a QB room consisting of Dalton and Foles, a rookie quarterback is likely on the way.
When asked about the possibility of drafting a quarterback, Pace didn’t totally brush off the idea, however, he didn’t fully commit to the idea either. That means either a rookie quarterback is on the way or isn’t on the way.
There have also been times where Pace saves his splash moves for the NFL Draft. Considering the Bears have taken a conservative approach to the offseason where they’ve made a number of smaller signings to beef up roster depth, its quite likely that Pace is saving his biggest move for the NFL Draft.
For now, Dalton will be the Bears starter to open the 2021 season but the Bears haven’t mentioned how long Dalton will be the starter for, which just means Pace clearly has a bigger move on the way.
