The Chicago Bears have always had terrible luck at the quarterback position and it seems 2020 felt the need to kick them when they were down. Most people know how the main story played out. Desiring competition for Mitch Trubisky, they went out and traded for Nick Foles from Jacksonville. A former Super Bowl MVP with knowledge of Matt Nagy’s offense, it made plenty of sense.
In the end, Trubisky managed to cling to his job.
What nobody will believe is it came so close to being a different story. Former ESPN and NBC sports analyst Dan Patrick is well-connected in the world of sports. So when he offers inside information on anything, it’s probably rock solid. He dropped a bit of a bombshell on his radio show when he revealed the Bears were actually one of the finalists to land Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. Right up there with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Chargers.
“The final list that Brady was looking at, the Chargers, the Bears, and the Buccaneers. I was told this yesterday. I said ‘wait a minute, the Bears?’ [Source] said yes. Brady was considering the Bears, the Chargers were a long shot because of the west coast…the fact that he was considering the Bears, Chicago at least – because he wanted to be [close] in proximity to New York where his son is…but ended up taking Tampa Bay.”
Chicago Bears once again come up just short
A lot of people will be shocked by this. Not just because the Bears were serious about Brady but how in the world they managed to keep it so quiet. This is another reminder of just how good GM Ryan Pace is at running a tight ship. Nobody had a clue about his pursuit of Khalil Mack in 2018 either. Not until the trade happened. So this shouldn’t be a surprise.
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It’s not clear why future Hall of Famer chose Tampa Bay over them in the end. Maybe the Bucs offered more money or maybe Brady just liked their setup better. They have more proven offensive weapons and a head coach in Bruce Arians who is widely respected around the league for his quarterback prowess.
The Bears certainly would’ve seemed appealing too. An elite defense. A stud go-to receiver in Allen Robinson and a head coach in Matt Nagy whom players universally love. It’s not crazy. Sadly as has become the case too many times over the years, they came up just short.
Terry Bradshaw.
Joe Montana.
Kurt Warner.
Peyton Manning.
Aaron Rodgers.
It’s just another name to add to the list at this point.