The Chicago Bears are probably one of the biggest wild cards going into this offseason. Nobody knows for sure what they have planned at the quarterback position. Yes, GM Ryan Pace stated in his last press conference that the plan is for Mitch Trubisky to remain the starter in 2020. However, there was nothing else for him to say that wouldn’t cause a huge controversy while also betraying his team’s intentions. This doesn’t mean what he said is set in stone. The Bears could easily look for options on the veteran market with guys like Philip Rivers being among the most interesting.
After 16 years, the Los Angeles Chargers announced that the team was parting ways with the eight-time Pro Bowler. It was an incredible run that started back in 2004. During that span, Rivers finished just shy of 60,000 yards passing with 397 touchdowns. He also led them to the playoffs six times. Unfortunately, he never was able to reach the Super Bowl. At 38-years old, the team felt it was time for a change.
This has left the obvious question. Where does Rivers play next? There is plenty of teams that could be possibilities. So Action Network Odds ran the numbers and came up with betting odds. The two favorite teams are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. Chicago? They hovered in fifth place at +800 with Miami.
Philip Rivers isn’t impossible, but he’s a longshot
Speculation on Rivers is widespread. His family moved to Florida, so the interest in Tampa Bay is obvious. He has coaching connections to the Colts, having worked with their head coach Frank Reich in San Diego. The Bears? Ties to him pretty much sit with Matt Nagy who went against him for five seasons when he was with the Kansas City Chiefs. So there is familiarity. The problem is one of money. Rivers will likely cost somewhere between $25-30 million per year to sign. Chicago would have to do a major amount of housecleaning to their payroll to make this work.
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That might not be something Pace is prepared to do. Not unless he feels Rivers is the last piece to their Super Bowl puzzle. Given his track record, that is unlikely to be the case. He can get them back to the playoffs. Beyond that? It’s hard to say. Anything is possible. It just feels like the best thing to do is steer clear of those odds.
