One thing is clear to everybody by now. The Chicago Bears will spend the bulk of their offseason trying to fix the quarterback position. It’s the white whale GM Ryan Pace has chased since he arrived six years ago. Mike Glennon, Mitch Trubisky, and Nick Foles? All have proven failures. While he remains in charge for another year, it’s clear 2021 may be his last stand. He needs a home run. Hence why Deshaun Watson remains a major topic of discussion.
The situation down in Houston is crazy. Going into the 2020 calendar year, things appeared fine. Watson was moving towards a big contract extension. The Texans were coming off their second-straight playoff appearance.They looked like a team that would remain an AFC contender for years. Then things went down hill remarkably fast, and it started when Houston made the baffling decision to trade star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
A move that did not sit well with Watson at the time and still doesn’t.
Things only got worse as the year unfolded. A bad start to the season saw head coach Bill O’Brien get fired. The defense regressed in a big way as well. Soon the losses began to pile up and Watson was the only man keeping it from getting truly awful. Houston finished 4-12. Still, it didn’t have to be all bad. They could just find a new GM and a new head coach to right the ship.
They even promised their young QB, whom they’d just signed to a gigantic contract extension, some input on both hires. All of those assurances went right out the window when Texans ownership pushed hard to hire Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio. Watson was not consulted on that move. Worse still, both of his preferred head coaching hires in Eric Bieniemy and Robert Saleh were initially ignored.
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Exasperated, the quarterback broke off contact. Since then the smoke has grown thicker by the day that Houston may end up having to trade their disgruntled star. It’s a matter of when and where. Some favorites have already emerged such as the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. However, ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler was quick to note that the Bears should not be ignored.
🔹 Chicago Bears
🔹 Carolina Panthers
🔹 Washington Football Team@JFowlerESPN's list of sleepers in a potential Deshaun Watson trade. pic.twitter.com/bm6D9fZDhF
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 20, 2021
Deshaun Watson is a long shot but not impossible for the Bears
The primary reasoning for Chicago being lower on the list is their limited amount of cap space coupled with no pick in the top 10. So it would be difficult for them to make a compelling offer to Houston. That being said, it’s important to remember that Watson himself has some leverage here. With a no-trade clause in his contract, he can control where he ends up going to a certain extent. If he wanted to join the Bears, he could insist upon it to the Texans brass.
This trade would just be about offering a strong enough package to Houston. It would be making a sales pitch to Deshaun Watson himself. The Bears do have something to offer in this case. They still feature one of the better defenses in the NFL. They sit in one of the top markets in the entire country, especially for sports. They’ve also made the playoffs two out of the last three seasons despite mostly below-average quarterback play.
It’s not a monumental stretch to think a star QB could make them contenders.
Watson is a competitor and might view the Bears as not only a solid landing spot but an intriguing challenge. A franchise known for its quarterback woes. Just imagine the levels of stardom he could reach if he played at his current level in Chicago for the next 10 years? A lot of variables are involved, but don’t just outright ignore the Bears. They have a card to play.