The Chicago Bears have a long history of painful near-misses at the quarterback position. It’s grown almost comical to this point. In 1970 they lost a coin toss with Pittsburgh that cost them the chance to draft Terry Bradshaw. Nine years later they had a chance to select Joe Montana in the third round of the draft but passed on him for a backup running back to Walter Payton. Yet the most painful miss? That may be Kurt Warner.
Most people have heard at least part of the story by now. In 1997, Warner was looking for a way into the NFL and was hoping for teams to give him a tryout after a successful run in the Arena League. The Bears were one of the teams in need of depth at the position and they were willing to entertain him for a tryout. All that’s known at this point is he came down with an illness in his throwing arm on his honeymoon and the Bears backed out.
What hasn’t been known are the exact details of how everything went down. This might be a tough ride for Chicago, learning just how close the team came to landing the eventual Hall of Famer. He explained himself during an interview on Undeniable with Joe Buck.
Incredibly bad timing and luck robbed Bears of landing Kurt Warner
It’s important to remember that Kurt Warner wasn’t Kurt Warner back then. Most teams knew him as a former Northern Iowa quarterback who did well in the Arena League. The Bears were willing to give him a look because their own quarterback depth chart was not ideal. If Warner had signed, he would’ve been up against Erik Kramer, Rick Mirer, and Steve Stenstrom for a shot to claim the starting job.
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Smart money says he probably would’ve at least made the team and from there worked his way up the depth chart like he eventually did with the St. Louis Rams. To think the brutal timing of them calling during his wedding and honeymoon time, then getting stung or bitten by a poisonous critter right where he could least afford it?
It’s not hard to see why the Bears backed out. A team could’ve only been so patient in those circumstances. Still, it’s fascinating to wonder how things might’ve been different had Warner managed to make that tryout 21 years ago. Would Dave Wannstedt had saved his job? Would Brian Urlacher have ever been a Bear?
All of those and more were possibilities that never came to pass.
