There are just so many scenarios to play through that’s it’s difficult to figure out which road the Bears will take. Gil Brandt, a football lifer who was a longtime scout and is now a top draft analyst for NFL.com, did a breakdown of every quarterback needy team in the league. For each one he offered what he viewed as his best solution for them.
What he had for Chicago was somewhat surprising.
“Though they’ve suffered from lackluster quarterback play, the Bears are better than people think. There’s a reason they’re fourth in my “worst to first” rankings for the 2017 season. Chicago already has a defense that ranked 15th overall, plus a strong running game led by rookie back Jordan Howard. Barkley and Hoyer will be free agents and Cutler is a likely — though not definite — goner.
If the Bears landed a legitimately good signal-caller, it could make a huge difference. I’d use the third overall pick to bolster the roster elsewhere and seek a more mature quarterback outside of the draft. Romo might be available, but if I were in their shoes, I’d try to trade for Garoppolo, a Chicago-area native who played for general manager Ryan Pace’s alma mater, Eastern Illinois.”
Brandt may be past his prime, but this man oversaw a revolution in the NFL. He’s seen the quarterback position grow from the ground up. If anybody knows what a good one looks like, it’s him. After all, he had a hand in drafting two Hall of Famers in Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman. Not to mention Pro Bowlers Don Meredith and Danny White.
The idea behind the Garoppolo angle makes plenty of sense. John Fox gets a young but experienced quarterback who can start right away. This so the team has a chance to win in 2017. A necessity if Fox wants to save his job. At the same time it might preserve the #3 overall pick for Ryan Pace to use at another position. Likely a top talent for the defense.
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The problem is price. It’s still unknown whether the New England Patriots will make him available for trade at all. If they do, how much will they demand in return? Initial estimate say it will take a first round pick and fourth round pick at least. If that’s the case it might be too rich a demand for a team like the Bears, who still have lots of needs across the roster. On the other hand if they can haggle it down to two second rounders or a second and third, then it might be worth it.
It’s true the story of the hometown kid returning to pull his childhood team out of the mire would be Hollywood-level stuff. At the same time there may just be too much competition for Garoppolo’s services.
