The Chicago Bears have plenty of concerns heading into this offseason, but there’s no bigger concern than the quarterback position, as has been true for the better part of the last century.
With general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy returning in 2021, there’s not much confidence that the duo can suddenly find an answer at quarterback. Barring trading for someone like Deshaun Watson, which isn’t going to happen.
It was clear that neither Mitchell Trubisky nor Nick Foles was the answer at quarterback for Chicago, which leaves the Bears in a precarious situation. With Trubisky likely to walk in free agency, that leaves Foles as the only quarterback under contract for the Bears in 2021.
The Bears are going to make a move at quarterback this offseason — Pace and Nagy got another year because of it — which means Foles isn’t going to be the guy in 2021.
Pro Football Focus believes that drafting Alabama quarterback Mac Jones — should he drop to No. 20 — is the best-case scenario at quarterback for the Bears in 2021.
Here’s what PFF had to say about Jones being a fit for the Bears:
Jones’ arm may not be a bazooka and he may not have the mobility of the modern-day NFL quarterback, but his accuracy, decision-making, timing and processing are all incredible traits a team such as the Bears needs to take a chance on. Jones is fresh off breaking Joe Burrow’s record for highest PFF grade by a Power Five quarterback in the PFF College era (95.4). He also broke the mark set by Burrow last year in single-season negatively graded throw rate by a significant margin.
Is Jones a slam dunk? No, but he’s the most realistic best-case scenario that the Chicago Bears have in front of them.
With Pace and Nagy’s jobs on the line in 2021, it’s certainly likely that they’re looking to make a splash move, whether that’s in free agency or, most likely, through the NFL draft.
Unless the Bears trade up in the NFL draft, there’s a chance that the top-tier quarterbacks in the draft — Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Kyle Trask and Jones — could be off the board by the time Chicago’s pick rolls around at No. 20. Which means they could have to trade up to lock up their guy.
