Bears Mailbag -- Likelihood of Trading Trubisky and Burton?

Social distancing is crazy. As someone who has traveled for work on a weekly basis his entire career, working from home EVERY DAY the last two weeks has been … something. That said, it’s nice. And safe. And safe is good. Hope everyone and your families are keeping well during this time.

On the positive side, the NFL proceeded with the start of its new league year, giving us NFL and Chicago Bears news to scroll through on Twitter with nothing better to do. (Thank you, NFLPA, for not agreeing to postpone.)

A lot has happened in the last 1.5 weeks, and I tackle a lot of that, and future projections, in this week’s Bears Mailbag below. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions! I always appreciate the participation. Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.

Mailbag

They’ll shop both, but it’s unlikely they find takers for either. Maybe someone takes a late round shot on Trubisky after the draft. But both are likely to be Bears next year.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

(Note on the above: The original question asked about the likelihood the Bears trade Mitch Trubisky and Trey Burton.)

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I did hear it. I’m not surprised, but they won’t find takers. Bears are better off keeping him than cutting him. Their best hope is he captures early 2018 form.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

That's my fear. With the Olympics postponed to 2021, it's almost a guarantee that minicamps, OTAs, and preseason are all in jeopardy. We may see a delayed or perhaps even shortened 2020 NFL season without much prep. We saw this a few years ago before the previous CBA passed.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

It really depends on the board and how it plays out. I'm interested to see what Ryan Pace considers BPA. Personally, I'd like to see an OL and CB. An EDGE or even QB (if the right guy is available) would be good as well.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

I feel ya, Andrew. That contract was wildly expensive. But it's not quite as devastating as it seems on the surface. Most of the money is due this year, and there's $3M in dead cap in 2021 when they cut him next year — when the cap is projected to skyrocket. Not too bad.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 25, 2020

It's difficult to find quality offensive linemen in free agency without overpaying. I'd expect the Bears to certainly draft one, and perhaps peruse the second wave of free agency to grab a veteran at a value deal. Need or not, the Bears need to be smart with their resources.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 25, 2020

Other. I’d rather them draft someone. They made their veteran play in Foles. No more.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

Their depth chart right now is Montgomery, Cohen, and Nall. I wouldn't be surprised if they brought in another young RB to compete, especially because I don't envision Cohen returning next year. I like Antonio Gibson out of Memphis.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

They could’ve been looking at Mahomes/Kittle. 😊

I personally don’t lament missing out on Watson. Better than Mitch doesn’t mean worthy of #2 or #3. I don’t think Watson is at that level.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 25, 2020

Anthony Miller is above average when healthy. This WR class is stacked with talent — expect the Bears to dip in here to improve their WR corps. In particular, look for them to target speed demons.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 25, 2020

Foles is a better fit in this offense. Cam is not healthy. I think the 4th round pick was a hefty price, but I would have more faith in Foles over Cam.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

I think it depends on the context. If 75% of the roster is injured again like in 2019, there may be *some* leeway, depending on what the final record ends up being. Last year, this team went 8-8 despite crazy injuries and arguably the worst starting QB in the league.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

(Note on the above: The original question asked if Ryan Pace will be fired if the Bears miss the playoffs in 2020.)

Assuming you meant Foles? Because I’d say Foles. He isn’t a particularly good QB, but he gets this scheme, has succeeded in this scheme, and can execute RPOs consistently. That’s important!
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

I’ll be bold and predict an 1,100 yard season and 7 TDs on the ground. The run blocking literally cannot be worse than 2019. Now they have an offensive line coach who knows this scheme. This should be interesting to follow.

Bonus — I also expect Cohen to improve.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

Hopefully soon. The Bears have a lot of re-swizzling to do with respect to their salary cap, which is probably what's delaying either talks or even the announcement.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

I doubt it. I’d rather (and would think) the Bears draft a young QB to sit behind Foles.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020

Yes. For one, the run blocking literally cannot be worse. Now they have an offensive line coach who knows the scheme. And they have Bill Lazor who likes the running game, too. There will be significant improvement here.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) March 24, 2020