The Chicago Bears have lots of work to do this offseason. They still have a number of coaching vacancies to fill after hiring Sean Desai as their defensive coordinator. After that, the real work begins. What do they do with Allen Robinson? Who will be cap casualties? Will certain key defensive names be sacrificed? There are tons of subplots ready to unfold. Yet all of them pale in comparison to the obvious.

What will the Bears do at quarterback? It feels like a topic that must be discussed every year. While other franchises enjoy standout success from the position, Chicago continues to wait for that hero to finally rescue them from this purgatory. It was supposed to be Jim McMahon. He couldn’t stay healthy. It was supposed to be Jay Cutler. He was too reckless. It was supposed to be Mitch Trubisky. He couldn’t handle the mental challenges of the position.

Expectations are GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy will be aggressive in trying to upgrade the position. Several notable veterans could be up for grabs either via free agency or the trade market. So let’s play musical chairs. Where will each of them end up and will one of them be in Chicago?

Chicago Bears QB pursuits likely to strike out

Deshaun Watson – San Francisco 49ers

It’s going to make a lot of Bears fans sad, but facts are facts. They just don’t have the resources or the appealing situation to lure Watson to Chicago. The 49ers? They have Kyle Shanahan, one of the best play-callers as a head coach and they’re not far off from a Super Bowl appearance. Watson was spotted in a 49ers jersey not too long ago. This is a move that would likely make him happy and the Texans as well since he’s out of the AFC.

Matthew Stafford – Indianapolis Colts

This is a situation that makes a ton of sense. Indy is an AFC team with a ready-made roster to win now. They have an aggressive GM in Chris Ballard. They also play in a dome which would immediately appeal to Stafford. It’s such an easy sell for all parties involved. Stafford goes to a competitor and Detroit gets what should be a favorable package of picks in return. The Chicago Bears, a division rival just isn’t feasible.

Carson Wentz – Philadelphia Eagles

It was apparent right away when Philadelphia fired Doug Pederson that the organization was siding with Wentz. He’s still young and talented. They no doubt feel a fresh start with a new head coach will hopefully get him back on the right path. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Jalen Hurts though. Could he be available? Time will tell.

Derek Carr – Las Vegas Raiders

People love to pinpoint Carr as a possible option because Jon Gruden is just that finnicky about quarterbacks. That being said, he isn’t the problem for the Raiders. It’s the defense. Carr is coming off the best season of his career. He’s only 30-years old and has two years left on a very manageable contract. Why would Las Vegas trade him with few reasons to?

Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys

One of two things is expected to happen here. Either Dallas will franchise tag Prescott for a second time or they’ll reach an agreement on a long-term extension. The odds of the Pro Bowler reaching free agency are exceedingly low. Now the Cowboys could consider trading him after the tag for a bounty of picks but that seems unlikely. Jerry Jones isn’t prone to giving up proven quarterbacks for unproven ones.

Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons

This is a tough one to determine. Ryan is carrying a massive cap hit over $40 million in 2021. He also turns 36-years old. It looks like Atlanta is heading for a rebuild. Trading him would make sense since they hold the #4 overall pick. They could snag a top QB there. Then again Ryan is still effective and would be hard to trade anyway. Expect him to ultimately stay put.

Sam Darnold – New York Jets

The Jets aren’t going to tip their hand publicly on Darnold. Not with the #2 pick in hand and possibly wanting to trade down. Yet Adam Schefter said the likelihood is high the 23-year old quarterback would remain the starter in New York moving forward. The team still believes he can be fixed and finally have a regime in place that can help him.

Jimmy Garoppolo – New England Patriots

It feels like the one notable QB the Chicago Bears would have a shot at is Garoppolo. With Watson going to San Francisco, he’ll end up being cut. The guy is from Rolling Meadows. He went to college at Eastern Illinois. It’s an easy sell. However, one can’t forget the Patriots need a QB too. They were the ones who drafted him. He knows their system as well as anybody. That feels like an even easier connection.

Alex Smith – Washington Football Team

Washington loves Smith. That’s been clear from how they’ve treated him and talk about him. The odds are good he’ll remain the starter next year with the idea of adding a rookie draft pick behind him that they can develop. It’s something Ron Rivera knows how to do and he has plenty of time on his side in order to execute such a plan.

Not the most favorable outcome, sadly.

The reality is the Bears just aren’t in a good spot. They don’t have much draft capital. Their two men at the top are on the hot seat. Their history with QBs is infamously bad. Landing a top veteran via trade or free agency just doesn’t appear to be in the cards. It’s far more likely they’ll be hunting for their next guy in the NFL draft instead with Nick Foles or another cheap veteran acting as a possible bridge. Not the most favorable scenario.