A complete list of Bears failed QB experiments since the Packers traded for Brett Favre

The Chicago Bears have been continuously ridiculed for their inability to find and develop a franchise quarterback compared to their division opponent, the Green Bay Packers.

Since 1992, the Packers have had three sure franchise quarterbacks lead their team. They have also had an additional five quarterbacks start at the position. Meanwhile, the Bears have had 39 starting quarterbacks since 1992.

While this article lists every quarterback who has started for the Bears since 1992, not all are necessarily "failed quarterback experiments", but I felt like it was important to mention all of them.

A few did help get the Bears to the playoffs like Jim Harbaugh, Steve Walsh/Erik Kramer, Jim Miller, Rex Grossman, Jay Cutler, and Mitchell Trubisky, yet they have still struggled to find their long-term star QB.

Bears starting quarterbacks since 1992

Jim Harbaugh (1987-1993)

Jim Harbaugh played for the Bears from 1987-1993. He started 28 games for Chicago between 1992 and 1993. He led the Bears to a Wild Card playoff appearance where they lost 13-17 to the Dallas Cowboys. Harbaugh went 16-13 during those two years and threw for 5,607 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions.

Peter Tom Willis (1990-1993)

Willis spent four seasons with Chicago. He started two games in 1992 and one in 1993 for the Bears. He finished his career with 1,261 yards, six touchdowns, and 15 interceptions.

Will Furrer (1992)

Furrer only played two games for the Bears in 1992. He threw for 89 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Erik Kramer (1994-1998)

Kramer spent five seasons with the Bears including two seasons as the starter. During his time with Chicago, Kramer was quite accomplished and passed for over 3,000 yards in both of those starting seasons. To this day, he continues to hold the franchise records for single-season passing yards (3,838) and touchdowns (29).

Steve Walsh (1994-1995)

In 1993, Walsh took over as the starting QB when Kramer became injured. he ended up posting an 8-3 record in the regular season and led the Bears to a Wild Card win against Minnesota. He was demoted to backup the following season when Kramer recovered.

Dave Krieg (1996)

Krieg only played for the Bears during the 1996 season, going 6-6 on inconsistent play.

Rick Mirer (1997)

Mirer was another quarterback who spent only one season in Chicago. He started three out of the seven games he played in and lost all three. He passed for 420 yards, zero touchdowns, and six interceptions.

Steve Stenstrom (1995-1998)

Stenstrom spent three seasons with the Bears but didn't see much playing time until his third and final year with Chicago. In 1998, he went 1-6 on 1,252 yards, four touchdowns, and six interceptions.

Moses Moreno (1998)

Moreno was drafted by the Bears in the seventh round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He started one game, a loss, and threw for 166 yards and one touchdown.

Shane Matthews (1993-1996)

Matthews, an All-American quarterback out of Florida, signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 1993 and spent four years with the team. He started in 15 games from 1999-2001, throwing for 3,303 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions.

Cade McNown (1999-2000)

The Bears thought they found their future franchise quarterback in the 1999 NFL Draft after selecting Cade McNown 12th overall, who became the highest-drafted QB by the Chicago since Jim McMahon in 1982. Things didn't go as well as Chicago had hoped. McNown only played two seasons with the Bears, started 15 games, and threw for 3,111 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions. McNown's off-field character issues tied with his poor on-field performances were the reasons for his demise and he was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2001.

Jim Miller (1998-2002)

Miller took over as the starter for the Bears in 1999 after signing with them as a free agent the year prior. Miller went 1-2 in 1999 before being suspended for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, the first quarterback to do so. When Miller resumed his starting role in 2001, he posted an 11-2 record and led the Bears to a divisional playoff appearance against the Eagles, where they lost 19-33.

Chris Chandler (2002-2003)

Chandler spent only two seasons with the Bears in 2002 and 2003. He started 13 total games and passed for 2,073 yards, seven touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.

Henry Burris (2002)

Burris played in six total games for the Bears in 2002, starting one. He threw for a poor total of 207 yards, three touchdowns, and five interceptions but did show off some running skills.

Kordell Stewart (2003)

Stewart spent only the 2003 season with Chicago, starting seven games and posting 1,418 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

Rex Grossman (2003-2008)

Rex Grossman is probably remembered more positively than most previous Bears quarterbacks. He was selected by Chicago in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft and started in three games that same season, while Stewart and Chandler earned the other starts. In 2004, Grossman was named started but suffered a season-ending ACL injury. He missed most of the 2005 season with a broken ankle but came back strong in 2006.

Grossman started in all 16 games for the Bears and led them to a Super Bowl appearance against the Colts where they lost 17-29. During that year he threw for 3,193 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions. Grossman continued to play for the Bears off and on for the next two seasons before signing with the Texans as a free agent.

Craig Krenzel (2004)

Krenzel only played two years in the NFL. His first season was with the Bears after they drafted him in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He went 3-2 as a starter in Chicago, winning his first three in a row.

Chad Hutchinson (2004)

Hutchinson was another one of many QBs who played just one season in Chicago. He ended up starting in place of Grossman, who had suffered a season-ending injury. Jonathan Quinn, who we have yet to mention, and Krenzel also started that season.

Jonathan Quinn (2004)

Quinn was also a part of the Bears team for just the 2004 season. He started three games that season and lost all three.

Kyle Orton (2005-2008)

Kyle Orton was drafted in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He ended up starting 15 games that season in place of an injured Grossman and posted a record of 10-5. Orton didn't play during the 2006 season and started only three games in 2007. Orton started 15 games again in 2008 and ended up throwing for a total of 5,319 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 27 interceptions while with Chicago.

Brian Griese (2006-2007)

Griese was a veteran QB when he joined the Bears to back up Grossman. He started six games in two years and threw for 2,023 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He went 3-3 as a starter in 2007 and the Bears ultimately decided to move on from him that offseason, trading him to Tampa Bay.

Jay Cutler (2009-2016)

The Bears traded for Jay Cutler and a fifth-round pick in exchange for Kyle Orton, two first-round picks, and a third-round pick. Cutler played eight seasons for the Bears, starting in all 105 games that he played in. The Bears made the playoffs just once during Cutler's time in Chicago. In 2010, they
won the divisional playoffs against the Seahawks but eventually lost the NFC Championship to the Packers.

Cutler remains the Bears' franchise leader in passing yards, touchdowns, attempts and completions.

Todd Collins (2010)

Collins was Cutler's backup during the 2010 season and saw limited action. He started one game for the Bears, which ultimately became a win, but was replaced by third-string QB Caleb Hanie after throwing for five interceptions.

Caleb Hanie (2008-2011)

Hanie spent four seasons with Chicago after signing with them as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He lost all four games as the starter for the Bears in 2011.

Josh McCown (2011-2013)

NFL Journeyman Josh McCown spent three years with the Bears. He started two games in year one with the team and another five in year three. McCown finished with a 4-3 record in Chicago, 2,243 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Jason Campbell (2012)

Jason Campbell spent the sole 2012 season with the Bears. He started just one game during the season after Cutler was ruled out with an injury. Campbell put up a poor performance throwing for just 107 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions as well as being sacked six times.

Jimmy Clausen (2014-2015)

A former second-round pick, Clausen became the Bears starter late in 2014 in place of Jay Cutler but eventually relinquished the role back to Cutler. Clausen played in six total games for the Bears and started just two, throwing for 407 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. he was waived during the 2015 season.

Matt Barkley (2016)

Chicago initially signed Barkley to their practice squad in 2016 before elevating him to the active roster. Barkley went 1-5 as the Bears starting quarterback and posted a poor 8-15 touchdown-interception ratio.

Brian Hoyer (2016)

Yet another veteran quarterback who spent just one season in Chicago, Brian Hoyer didn't see much success with the Bears either He went 1-4 during his five starts even though he posted decent stats of 1,445 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

Mitchell Trubisky (2017-2020)

The Bears really thought they found their quarterback when they traded up to second overall in the 2017 NFL Draft to select Mitch Trubisky. They have been ridiculed since for letting Patrick Mahomes slide to the Chiefs at 10th overall.

Chicago entrusted Trubisky with the starting job from 2017-2019. He had a strong season in 2018, leading the Bears to the playoffs with a record of 11-3, 3,223 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The Bears lost the Eagles after the Bears last-minute field goal attempt hit the uprights.

In 2019, he posted another 3,000-yard season along with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Trubisky started just nine games during his final season in Chicago in 2020. He finished the year on 2,055 yards, 16 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and another Wild Card loss.

Mike Glennon (2017)

Glennon signed a three-year deal with Chicago in 2017 but only remained with the team for the season. He started four games that year, with the other starts going to rookie Mitch Trubisky. The Bears went 1-3 in those four games and Glennon only threw for 833 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions. He was released the following offseason.

Chase Daniel (2018-2019)

Chase Daniel played two seasons in Chicago as support to Mitch Trubisky. He started just three games (1-2) and posted a 70 percent completion percentage and positive touchdown to interception ratio at 6-to-4.

Nick Foles (2020-2021)

Following his Super victory with the Philadelphia Eagles and a one-year stint with Jacksonville, the Bears traded for Nick Foles who would compete with Trubisky for the starting job. Trubisky ultimately won the battle, but Foles still played in 11 games, started in eight (3-5), and threw for 2,102 yards, 11 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

Foles wasn't able to bring to the table what the Bears had hoped for.

Justin Fields (2021-2023)

Chicago fans rejoiced during the 2021 NFL Draft, yet again, thinking they got their future quarterback. The Bears drafted Ohio State QB Justin Fields 11th overall. Fields underwent a lot of scrutiny during his time with Chicago. Many felt he wasn't progressing enough while others felt like the Bears' poor organizational condition was holding him back from his true potential.

In the end, despite posting a poor 10-28 record, Fields put up decent numbers for the Bears, throwing for over 6,000 yards, 40 passing touchdowns, 14 rushing touchdowns, and 30 interceptions.

As the 2023 season neared its end, the narrative surrounding the Bears was whether they would stick with Fields or draft Caleb Williams in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Andy Dalton (2021)

Dalton was yet another veteran backup quarterback who couldn't contribute much to Chicago. He went 3-3 as a starter with 1,515 yards, eight touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

Trevor Siemian (2022)

Siemian was another failed backup who only started one game for the Bears, a loss.

Nathan Peterman (2022-2023)

Peterman was a backup to Justin Fields for two years in Chicago. He got one start in 2022 and threw for 139 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Peterman was infamous for throwing five first-half interceptions during his first career start with the Buffalo Bills.

Tyson Bagent (2023-present)

Tyson Bagent had an incredibly strong collegiate career. The Bears signed Bagent as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and he has remained as the backup since. During the 2023 season, he started in place of the injured Justin Fields, going 2-2, and throwing 859 yards, three touchdowns, and six interceptions.

Bagent has proven to be a quality backup. and I could see him remaining with Chicago for another few years.

Caleb Williams (2024-present)

The Bears did what everyone thought they were going to do when they decided to move on from Fields and drafted former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams first overall in 2024.

Many critics feel Williams could genuinely be the Bears franchise quarterback. However, he's another talented player who has been put in another poor situation in Chicago. Williams has shown he can be the guy Chicago wants him to be but the coaching situation has been zero help. The Bears finally decided to move on from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and now it's a waiting game to see when head coach Matt Eberflus gets the boot too.

Through 10 games so far, Williams has thrown for over 2,000 yards as well as nine touchdowns and five interceptions. He also has 306 rushing yards.

Out of the 39 QBs that have started for the Bears since 1992, 11 were drafted by Chicago:

1. Jim Harbaugh (1987)
2. Peter Tom Willis (1990)
3. Will Furrer (1992)
4. Moses Moreno (1998)
5. Cade McNown (1999)
6. Rex Grossman (2003)
7. Craig Krenzel (2004)
8. Kyle Orton (2005)
9. Mitchell Trubisky (2017)
10. Justin Fields (2021)
11. Caleb Williams (2024)

Will Caleb Williams finally end the Bears search for a franchise quarterback?