The Chicago Bears aren’t ready just yet to abandon Mitch Trubisky. That isn’t a surprise. The kid had such a promising year in 2018. Cutting the cord halfway through 2019 doesn’t make much sense. Still, the guy is making it tough to stay the course. Just five touchdown passes. Everything from yards per game to passer rating in the toilet. Fans only have so much tolerance for inept play out of that position. Bears fans, who have been subjected to atrocious QBs for decades, are especially impatient.
Trubisky isn’t totally dead yet, but it feels like the odds are stacked against him being the starter again in 2020. Arrows point towards the Bears making a change, most likely in free agency to get a veteran. The problem with that approach is they won’t be the only team that takes that approach. This means it could become a bit of race to find the guy they want before another team does.
So here’s the big question. How many teams will be in their way? Sifting through the rest of the league, I determined that eight teams stood out as possibilities to varying degrees with three being legitimate obstacles.
Chicago Bears competition for 2020 quarterbacks
Wild cards:
Buffalo Bills – Thus far the Bills can say they haven’t gotten entirely what they hoped for from Josh Allen. While he is technically playing better than he did as a rookie last year, his quarterback rating is still just 82.9. The team is 6-2 though and looking at a playoff berth, so it’s not likely they’ll pull the plug after two years unless he completely falls apart down the stretch.
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Los Angeles Chargers – Nobody is entirely sure what the Chargers are going to do at quarterback. Philip Rivers will be a free agent in 2020 and clearly the team hasn’t been too anxious to get him re-signed. This doesn’t mean it won’t happen but the possibility does exist that they may decide to move on if they fail to make the playoffs.
Washington Redskins – There is already an undercurrent that the Redskins aren’t entirely sure on if 1st round pick Dwayne Haskins is their guy moving forward. His play thus far hasn’t inspired confidence and besides. This organization has proven to be unpredictable. Whoever the new head coach is in 2020 could have a significant impact on that decision.
Likely to use the draft:
Miami Dolphins – Despite securing their first win of the year, it’s unlikely the Dolphins will be doing much more of it in 2019. They’re on track to hold one of the top three picks in the draft next year which means they’re virtually guaranteed to grab one of the big quarterback names from that class to compete with Josh Rosen for the starting job.
Cincinnati Bengals – Right now the Bengals are positioned to hold the #1 pick in the upcoming draft. This doesn’t guarantee they will take a quarterback but with Andy Dalton benched, it feels like things are trending heavily in that direction. They’ll want to start fresh with a new franchise guy and they could have their pick of whomever they wish.
Biggest threats:
Denver Broncos – Right now the Broncos have entered a cloud of uncertainty. Joe Flacco just went on IR with a neck injury, so his future is questionable. Then there is rookie 2nd round pick Drew Lock. The team had hoped he could end up becoming their long-term answer but he’s already dealing with injury setbacks and wasn’t playing all that well before it happened. John Elway is rather fickle when it comes to QBs and he may decide to seek out a new option.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Bruce Arians is too old at this point to start over with a rookie quarterback. If he decides to move on from Jameis Winston, which is uncertain at this point, then it will definitely be for a veteran. Based on his history, he’ll see out somebody with a stronger arm so they can run his vertical strike offense but anything is possible.
Tennessee Titans – This scenario comes entirely down to what the Titans see in Ryan Tannehill over the final stretch of this season. The veteran took over for Marcus Mariota three weeks ago and has played well thus far. If that trend continues, he could lock up the chance to be their guy in 2020 as well. This is a team much like the Bears that feel they’re ready to win now. All they need is a capable guy under center. If Tannehill stumbles, they will be on the hunt for a new option.
