With so many veteran QBs available this offseason, it's anybody’s guess where some of these big name play-callers will end up this fall. Sports Illustrated curated a list of which teams they deem as the best options for notable free agent veteran QBs. Since everyone in the NFL knows the Bears are looking for another QB to challenge the struggling Mitch Trubisky, it was no surprise that the Bears would appear on this list as a reasonable landing pad for some of these vets. The Bears came up as the best fit not once, but twice for Teddy Bridgewater and Marcus Mariota.
Neither of these names are considered radical to Bears fans, who have heard speculations tossed around about how both players could fit on the offense at Soldier Field.
Once Drew Brees announced he would play another season in New Orleans, it was widely accepted that the Saints would resign restricted free agent Taysom Hill as their backup, leaving Bridgewater to find a new home in unrestricted free agency. SI describes Bridgewater as someone with “an incredible ability to spot start and also keep the peace behind the scenes. Bridgewater could be both a calming presence and legitimate competition for Mitchell Trubisky, who needs to be pushed heading into Year 4.”
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However, a major downside for signing Bridgewater is that he has been speculated to command a starter-caliber salary in free agency. The Bears don't have a lot of cap space to work with this offseason, so this may hurt their chances at signing Bridgewater.
Tennessee Titans’ Marcus Mariota seems to check off a lot of boxes Ryan Pace is looking for. He had a rough start to his offensive career, despite once high expectations, making him not overtly threatening to Trubisky. Mariota has 61 starts and a career record of 29-32 under his belt, completing under 63% of his of his 1,110-career pass attempts and has 76 touchdown passes to 44 interceptions. So, while his resume isn’t glowing, SI speculates he could fit well within Matt Nagy’s offensive system.
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