It’s crazy how information even from months ago being released today can have such a profound impact. Longtime sports analyst Dan Patrick, formerly of ESPN and NBC, revealed on his radio show that a source told him the Chicago Bears were a finalist to land Tom Brady. They were considered a favorite along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the Los Angeles Chargers being a wild card.
Everybody knows the result. Brady ended up going to Tampa. Likely due to their better offensive weaponry and more experienced coaching staff. Most people will just brush this off as another missed opportunity. However, one must stop and think about this. Putting the pieces together, this Brady revelation actually sheds a ton of light on the Bears’ biggest and most criticized move of the offseason.
Their trade for Nick Foles.
Confused? Don’t be. All one has to do is backtrack through the sequence of events that took place back in March. Once things come to light, it becomes all too obvious why GM Ryan Pace was so aggressive.
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March 17th – Teddy Bridgewater agrees to 3-year deal with Carolina Panthers
So much has happened in previous months that Bears fans probably forgot the team was reportedly pursuing former New Orleans Saints backup Teddy Bridgewater. Mike Florio revealed the two sides were in talks about a possible deal hovering around $21 million per year. It didn’t happen though. The QB instead took a 3-year, $63 million from the Carolina Panthers who employed Joe Brady as their offensive coordinator, a man Bridgewater worked with back in 2018.
March 17th – Tom Brady agrees to 2-year deal with Tampa Bay Buccaneers
That same day was when Brady made his decision public that he was going to Tampa Bay for $50 million fully guaranteed. A big selling point according to those close to him was he wanted to stay as close to New York as possible. He has a child living there he doesn’t want to be too far away from. That is why Chicago was also an option. Just like that in the space of a few hours, the two QBs the Bears seemed to have eyes for the most were off the table. They clearly weren’t sold on Cam Newton or Andy Dalton. That left one guy left.
March 31st – Bears trade 4th round pick to Jaguars for Nick Foles
This means that Foles was in fact not their first option. He was more likely their last resort. A guy they’d turn to if they swung and missed on those they wanted in free agency. When that happened, the pursuit began to ramp up. The problem was other teams were interested in Foles as well. This meant the Bears were at risk of missing out on yet another QB they were targeting.
So Pace did what he had to do. He gave up a 4th round pick, which was the deciding factor in a deal getting done. Was it too much? With the benefit of hindsight knowing that Mitch Trubisky kept the starting job anyway? Yes, it was. However, with this newfound information, it’s much easier to accept why the Bears felt they had to make that move.