Best get the Mike Glennon trade talk revved up early. Or that’s at least the line of thought that is gaining steam of late. The Chicago Bears have maintained their stance since free agency and have not deviated. Glennon is the starter going into 2017. They want somebody with experience under center. He’s the guy. Meanwhile they can focus on developing Mitch Trubisky on the side. This way they have two possibilities in terms of answering the QB question.
GM Ryan Pace has hinted this was always the strategy. To take a couple of good cracks at solving the most important position in professional team sports. It’s logical enough. Glennon gets his shot this year. If he knocks it out of the park? Problem solved. If he doesn’t, they can turn to Trubisky and give him a shot. It’s a plan, and that’s something.
Then again some in the mainstream media feel the plan has changed.
Mike Glennon trade buzz picked up the moment Trubisky arrived
Bill Barnwell of ESPN did his NFL offseason grades for 2017. Suffice to say he came away unimpressed with the Bears. Most of it stemming from their reckless spending at the quarterback position. He felt they overpaid Glennon and then compounded the useless purchase by going after Trubisky. Now he feels there is only one thing to do with the veteran QB.
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“Glennon is not particularly useful to the Bears at this point because they basically have him signed to a one-year deal and have every intention of transitioning to Trubisky as their long-term quarterback in the near future. It’s tempting to try to hold out for a Sam Bradford-sized trade offer, but it’s rare for teams to lose their starting quarterback in training camp or the preseason and send a first-round pick to another team to acquire a quarterback.
It’s also more plausible that a team in that situation would look up Jay Cutler or Tony Romo before sending away a first-round pick to get a relative question mark like Glennon. The Bears would probably do well to get a mid-round pick for Glennon, and it would help if they restructured his contract to turn some of his $8 million salary into a roster bonus, which would make Glennon a cheaper (and more palatable) trade chit.”
Wait-and-see approach
This is something that was speculated on even a short time after Glennon was signed. He’d likely be a temporary starter and perhaps could make a valuable trade asset in 2018. By that point his contract would become far more affordable with most of the guaranteed money gone. That and he’d only be 29-years old. If lucky the Bears might even be able to recoup the third round pick they surrendered in the trade to move up for Trubisky.
At this point it’s difficult to predict what this team has planned. It’s clear enough that barring a Pro Bowl campaign by Glennon, it’s only a matter of time before Trubisky gets the nod. The trade deadline will fall around Halloween this year. By that point the picture should be clearer as to where the Bears are at. Perhaps Pace might try to make a move then.
