Matt Nagy loves Alex Smith.
As of Friday, the veteran quarterback is available.
Any hopes for a reunion between the Bears head coach and the quarterback who led the NFL in passer rating in their last season together in Kansas City should be tempered, though. Smith would seem redundant compared to Nick Foles, the only quarterback the Bears have under contract. Both are widely respected veterans who are three years away from their last dominant stint as starters.
Foles’ 2021 salary is guaranteed, though. It’s unclear if the Bears could trade him.
Smith turns 37 in May. He went 5-1 as Washington’s starter last year and posted an even better story, returning from a compound fracture in his leg that almost prompted amputation. He was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He threw more interceptions (8) than touchdowns (6), though, leading Washington — which is just as desperate for quality quarterback play as the Bears are — to release him Friday and save $14.9 million against their salary cap.
Just Tuesday, Nagy presented Smith, whom he coached from 2013-17, as the prototypical leader. He was asked then whether it was challenging to evaluate quarterbacks — such as Smith and Foles — with whom he’d worked at previous stops.
“Probably a little bit, just because they obviously — Alex had his big injury, but for him to be able to come back and do what he did is just fascinating,” Nagy said.
In recent years, Nagy held Smith up as an example for quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Both were athletic quarterbacks chosen ahead of franchise-changing passers in their drafts. Both struggled early in their careers. After the 49ers traded the former No. 1 overall pick to clear the way for Colin Kaepernick in 2013, Smith made three Pro Bowls in five years with the Chiefs.
“Alex went through a helluva stretch at the beginning, start of his career,” Nagy said in December. “And you all know where he’s at and what he’s done and what he did in Kansas City, well, his whole time there, is, he won a lot of games. But he went through a lot of rough patches during that time.
“Every player in this league has their own story. And we don’t know where Mitch’s story is gonna end up, but all we can do right now is focus on where he’s at right now at this moment.”
Trubisky will be a free agent later this month. A Bears reunion seems unlikely.
