The Chicago Bears had no reason to tell the entire truth in regards to their plans at quarterback for 2020. Sure they said Mitch Trubisky is the planned starter. They had to say that if only because he’s the last guy on the roster under contract. Not to mention saying they plan to push or replace him would tip other teams off to their intentions. Would they seriously consider somebody like a Tom Brady who will be a free agent come March? Or a better question is would he consider them? Not according to top insider Jay Glazer.
During his weekly mailbag, the insider for CBS Sports and The Athletic was asked about Brady’s possible landing spots if he somehow ends up leaving New England. Glazer ended up listing two franchises he felt made the most sense. Neither of them was the Bears.
“A lot of people think that he’s going to go back to the Patriots and it would certainly fit but I think they have to pay him. If I’m a team like the Raiders or the Chargers and I need to fill up my stadium and my fanbase, I am absolutely, without a doubt, going to go and say, “Mr. Brady, here’s the offense. You tell us what the offense is. You help devise it and Mr. Brady, here’s our checkbook. You fill it out”.
I know it’s going to be hard for Jon Gruden to do that but he’s the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL, the most marketable guy there is. He’s a gamechanger for a franchise. Season tickets. Marketing. I would open up my checkbook for him if I was a team like the Chargers or the Raiders, who are moving to Las Vegas, and especially if I want him to teach a young quarterback how to be a quarterback. I think it’s a no-brainer — you pay the man.”
Money will be an obstacle between Bears and Tom Brady
What Glazer is essentially saying is it’s not necessarily team fit that will prevent Brady from considering the Bears. It’s money. Even before unloading Derek Carr’s contract, the Raiders will have over $67 million in cap space. More than enough to pay Brady a nice deal. As for the Chargers, they’ll have over $56 million themselves. Also plenty. Both teams have stadiums they need to fill. Signing the greatest quarterback ever would be an attraction for sure.
The Bears don’t have the same flexibility. According to Spotrac, they have just over $20 million in cap space. Considering they have 22 in-house free agents to deal with even before the market opens, that isn’t nearly enough to make Brady a possibility. They’d have to do some serious re-working of the books and that doesn’t sound like something Ryan Pace will want to consider. So the fact Glazer didn’t list them as a top spot makes sense.
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