The Chicago Bears know they need a quarterback. They’ve known this since the 1950s. Yet for one reason or another, they just can’t seem to get that position right. Jim McMahon couldn’t stay healthy. Same with Erik Kramer. Jay Cutler was too inconsistent. Mitch Trubisky just doesn’t have the processing power. Now fans are looking towards 2021 for any signs of hope. Could Dak Prescott be that miracle?
The 27-year old Pro Bowler is scheduled to become a free agent next March. He’d be the most sought-after prize of any player on the market. Given the lingering contract stalemate he’s been in for over a year now? It doesn’t seem entirely crazy that this could happen. Good quarterbacks becoming available can happen under the right circumstances.
If this came to pass, is there any conceivable way the Bears could court him to Chicago? Yes, but it would take a lot of work and even more luck.
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Landing Dak Prescott in five (not so) easy steps
#1 – Dallas needs to let him walk
This is the essential part of the equation and also the most unlikely. The Cowboys franchise-tagged Prescott this past year because they weren’t able to reach an agreement with him on a long-term extension. Now that he’s returning off a broken ankle next year, some wonder if the team may think about grabbing a new QB with a likely high draft choice. Yet owner Jerry Jones has made it clear there are no such plans. The organization will continue to work towards a deal with Prescott. Failing that they could always tag him again. So it’ll take a lot for him to reach the market, but stranger things have happened.
#2 – Bears must secure a lot more cap space
Rest assured. The Bears won’t be the only team vying for Prescott’s services if he became available. There would be a hell of a long line. So it’s going to take quite the sales pitch. Money will be a huge factor. The quarterback has made it clear he intends to get paid like one of the best in the NFL because he believes he is one of those guys. We’re talking $40 million territory. Right now Chicago isn’t even close to having enough cap space to handle that sort of deal.
They’ll have to clean out lots of their bigger contracts. Kyle Fuller and Akiem Hicks? They need to be traded. Charles Leno Jr., Bobby Massie, and Buster Skrine will need to be cut with the post-June 1st designation while Jimmy Graham gets released too. That should put the team over $40 million in space, allowing them to make a run at Prescott.
#3 – Hire the right coach and GM
Money won’t be the only thing Dak Prescott looks at though. He’ll also think about fit. A player choosing the team is every bit as much a thing as a team choosing the player. This means the Bears can’t just hire any head coach and GM. They need to secure two men who can speak to Prescott the right way. Sell him on their vision of what they’d do with him both in the short and long-term.
For example, say the Bears paired hotshot Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady as head coach with Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay as GM. That would give Prescott one of the bright, young offensive minds in the NFL to work with while an executive who helped draft him in Dallas works to build the roster around him.
#4 – Convince Allen Robinson to stay
Make no mistake. Prescott is used to having a good array of weapons around him in Dallas. He’ll no doubt want to join a team that can offer him similar options. If Robinson were to leave in free agency as many expect, it would instantly torpedo the Bears’ chances of luring the quarterback to Chicago. That is why they’d have to renew their efforts to sign him before the start of free agency. If they somehow pulled that off, the star receiver would be a huge selling point for Dak Prescott.
#5 – Present a good plan to build around him
Remember this. The Bears will be trying to sell Prescott on joining the second-worst offense in the NFL. That will be incredibly difficult even if they retain Robinson and pay the QB his desired price tag. Team brass will also have to construct a proper plan to present to him. One that shows what they intend to do moving forward in order to build around him. They need to make it clear he’ll be the focal point. That means heavy investments in his protection and his weaponry.
Things this team hasn’t always committed to in years past. If the Bears do all of these things? Maybe, just maybe they could convince the star QB to shock the NFL world.