4. Chicago Bears
The Bears have taken advantage of soft early schedule, and a banged-up Tampa Bay Buccaneers team on a short week, to get to 4-1. But they’ve gotten there mostly despite the play of Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles under center, and there’s no huge guaranteed commitment to either guy next year. Trubisky did not have his fifth-year option for 2021 picked up, and Foles had his contract restructured upon being acquired from the Jaguars.
Nick Foles already has restructred his contract with the Bears, per source. He still has three years left, still has $21 million guaranteed left, but Foles now has the ability to void the deal after either of the first two years depending on his performance. Deal includes upside.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 18, 2020
Nick Foles Restructure
— Spotrac (@spotrac) April 30, 2020
• 3 years, $24M
• $21M fully guaranteed
• $8M in 2020
• $6M annual incentives
Yes, he modified his contract to reduce his cap hit for the Bears, but he’s still earning all the cash he was guaranteed from JAX. https://t.co/fg4tw15qeq
The Bears seem destined to always make the wrong choice of quarterback, by bad decisions or what ultimately shows to be bad fortune. A flimsy 4-1 could quickly turn into a 6-10 or 7-9 finish, but that would leave them out of the mix or the likes of Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, etc. at the top of the first round next April. If they prove to be better than the seem to be, making the playoffs (or winning a game!!) would push them into the back half of the first round.
Assuming general manager Ryan Pace keeps his job heading toward next year, all viable quarterback options should be on the table. There would be a lot worse things than buying low on Darnold.