It’s not easy being Ryan Pace. A lot of people in the media and on social media don’t like him. Nobody can figure out the source of the disdain for the Chicago Bears GM. Most chalk it up to his much-discussed decision to draft Mitch Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson back in 2017. No doubt a monumental blunder. Yet for the venom to last this long is somewhat surprising.
So it wasn’t a huge surprise when the Bears re-entered the market for quarterback help that Pace was going to catch heat. Trubisky had floundered in 2019 and the team needed some competition. Or even an outright replacement. After some dabbling on the market, the team ended up trading a 4th round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Nick Foles.
Suffice to say the move was not “celebrated.”
While it made logical sense given Foles’ connections to Matt Nagy and the coaching staff, lots of people were aghast the Bears would settle for him. Here’s a career backup who got lucky one season and won the Super Bowl getting traded for. All the while Pace had a former league MVP in Cam Newton just sitting out there twiddling his thumbs.
Tons of sports personalities and even celebrities begged the Bears to do it. He was what they were missing. He’d carry them to the promised land. Pace didn’t budge. Foles was the guy. A couple of months later, Newton signed with the New England Patriots. People threw up their hands in disgust. How could Chicago let that happen?
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Thus the Pace bashing continued.
Imagine passing on Cam Newton and Jameis Winston for $1M so you could give up a fourth-round pick for Nick Foles AND guarantee him $21M only to keep starting Mitchell Trubisky. GM of the Year, Ryan Pace. #Bears https://t.co/NamD08Jtua
— Nick Mensio (@NickMensio) September 4, 2020
Ryan Pace wondering why people are bringing him up after Cam Newton signs for a bare minimum deal while he gives up assets for Nick Foles pic.twitter.com/n5vOIAgX14
— Anthony (Tony) Gill (@thetonygill) June 29, 2020
Ryan Pace and the #Bears let the #Patriots steal Cam Newton:https://t.co/np1zom46yq
— Bryan Perez (@BryanPerezNFL) June 30, 2020
.@mlombardiNFL: Cam Newton can make Ryan Pace look like a 'dumb f***'https://t.co/JFkbvJxUww via @RDCSports pic.twitter.com/IpSsWh5Tyu
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) July 1, 2020
https://twitter.com/blakdale/status/1310065712753410049
Guess what? Nick Foles sucks too. And we gave up a draft pick to get him when we could have signed Cam Newton off the street. Ryan Pace is terrible at his job.
— Greg Boysen (@GregBoysen) September 27, 2020
Remember when the Bears could have signed Cam Newton for $1M?
And instead gave up 4th round pick for the opportunity to give Nick Foles a larger player-friendly deal?
Fire Ryan Pace. Please. My heart can only take so much of this.
— Lee Sharpe (@LeeSharpeNFL) October 9, 2020
Then a funny thing happened for Ryan Pace
After a solid start to the season, things began to go sideways for Newton. He struggled to find receivers consistently and had to lean heavily on his running ability to give the Patriots offense some life. Shoulder problems began to develop and then he came down with COVID-19. Upon returning to the lineup in Week 7, he had one of the worst games of his career.
In four starts, Newton now has 871 yards passing with two touchdowns and four interceptions. It got so bad the Patriots actually benched him during a blowout loss to San Francisco. Watching him, it was hard not to sense he’s lost some zip on his fastball. Not to mention the accuracy and ball placement issues. All of this was present during his final seasons in Carolina.
The Bears made the right call.
Newton has made more plays than Foles as a runner, but this offense never would’ve fit him. To say nothing of the offensive line issues the Bears currently have. Foles was the better choice because he gets the ball out fast and has a deeper knowledge of this system. That sort of thing matters given the struggles this offense continues to suffer through.
Newton would’ve just made them look even worse. Nevermind his knack for being a media lightning rod. Ryan Pace deserves a lot of the criticism he gets. In this instance? His decision was the right one.