Having a conversation about the best Chicago Bears quarterback of the Super Bowl era is kind of pointless. People can count the number of candidates on one hand. It’s basically a battle between Jim McMahon and Jay Cutler. McMahon won the Super Bowl. Cutler owns most of the passing records. So it comes down to preference. The far more interesting argument is who was the worst Bears QB during that same span?
There is a line out of the front door and down the street for that honor. There was the uber-athletic but completely erratic Bobby Douglass. Maybe the ill-advised trade acquisitions like Mike Phipps or Rick Mirer. Both of whom arrived at the cost of 1st round picks. Kordell Stewart? Craig Krenzel? Jonathan Quinn? All have strong arguments for that spot.
Yet according to Doug Clawson of ESPN, there was only one choice that made sense.
“Worst QB: Cade McNown. McNown (12th overall pick in 1999) was the Bears’ highest-drafted quarterback since McMahon, but he won just 3 of 15 starts with Chicago. To make matters worse, Chicago traded back in the 1999 draft for him, while the Redskins took Hall of Famer Champ Bailey with the Bears’ original pick.”
Chicago Bears were at their true low point with the McNown debacle
It’s rather fitting the Bears ended an awful decade of the 1990s with arguably their worst draft pick in franchise history. After years of avoiding 1st round QBs, they finally decide to take one in ’99 right when a Hall of Fame cornerback falls in their laps. What’s even worse about that pick? There was a better QB on the board. People don’t remember Daunte Culpepper went to Minnesota at #11 overall. One pick before the Bears took McNown.
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The UCLA standout started 15 games those two seasons he spent in Chicago. He completed 54% of his passes with 16 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. The guy looked overmatched almost constantly. There were concerns about his commitment to football and that was made worse when he injured his throwing shoulder. By 2001 he was traded to Miami and never played a down in the NFL again.
It’s hard not to wonder how different that 2001 season might’ve gone with Culpepper under center instead of Jim Miller and Shane Matthews. Or if Champ Bailey was at cornerback instead of R.W. McQuarters.
