GM Ryan Pace said everything was on the table at quarterback at the end of last season. People took that to mean the obvious. He and the Chicago Bears would be active and persistent in trying to find an upgrade at the most important position on the roster. So one can imagine the howls of disappointment when Andy Dalton got himself a nice $10 million payday to likely be their starter in 2021. What about Russell Wilson?
That is the name everybody couldn’t ignore for weeks. Ever since the seven-time Pro Bowler listed the Bears as a possible destination if traded. Things are clearly tense up in Seattle. Yet not tense enough as it turns out. The Seahawks listened to offers and seemed to ponder the pros and cons of the move. In the end, they decided to keep the quarterback.
Not without the Bears trying.
Multiple insiders from Adam Schefter to Mike Silver and Ian Rapoport all said the same thing. Chicago was super aggressive in their pitch to pry Wilson from Seattle. They offered “a lot.” Once it became clear the Seahawks weren’t going to do it, Pace had to move on to a contingency plan. That being the acquisition of Dalton on a one-year deal.
Chicago made "a very aggressive pursuit" of Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, per sources, and the Bears were told that Seattle is not trading him at this time.
The Bears were one of four teams Wilson's agent named as a place of interest. Now Chicago has an agreement with Andy Dalton.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2021
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The Bears made a very aggressive series of offers for Russell Wilson… and the Seahawks elected not to trade the QB. Once the Bears were convinced a trade wouldn't happen, they moved on and signed Dalton. In theory they could still add another QB, likely via draft…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 16, 2021
If nothing else, this is clear evidence that Dalton was most definitely not their first option. The Bears wanted Wilson. They wanted him really bad. It just didn’t come together. So they did what they thought they had to do. They went for a guy with extensive starting experience who they have plenty of information on via offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. The two worked together in Cincinnati.
Russell Wilson is off the table. So now what?
It feels like two courses of action will follow for the Bears. Either they’re going to devote every resource they have left to build the offense around Dalton for 2021. Or they aim to add a young quarterback early in the draft. One they can slot in behind him and develop. Basically, a return to the strategy Pace tried to employ back in 2017 with Trubisky and Mike Glennon.
Neither strategy seems ideal but then again this is what the Bears opened themselves up to when George McCaskey declared the GM and head coach would be back for another season. Rather than aim for a soft reboot, he put two men in charge with the knowledge their jobs are on the line and to fix this mess. Now their first big move is adding a 33-year old QB who has never won a playoff game in his entire career.
That is what desperation looks like.
Maybe there is a deeper plan at work. With this regime though? That feels highly unlikely. It looks like the plan is to run it back with mostly the same roster as last year with a different quarterback and then try to add a few more pieces in key areas. Then wait and pray. That doesn’t have the feel of a winning strategy. Then again when Russell Wilson was pretty much their only hope? It was obvious this team was in a bad way.