To this point, the Chicago Bears have had one of the worst offseasons in the NFL. On paper, there isn’t much to look forward to for the 2021 season.
The Bears are coming off an 8-8 season where they limped into the playoffs. They started out the year going 5-1 and looked like one of the best teams in the NFC. Since then, they lost their next six games and squeaked into the playoffs just to be beaten by the New Orleans Saints.
The biggest problem this past season for the Bears related to their quarterback play. Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky both played average at best, but Trubisky was slightly better.
Going into the offseason, the Bears knew they had to fix their problems under center. In order for Head Coach Matt Nagy and General Manager Ryan Pace to keep their jobs, they must transform Chicago’s offense to match the play of their the defense.
In comes in Russell Wilson. The Super Bowl winning quarterback seems to be becoming less tolerant with the Seattle Seahawks organization. According to reports, the Bears offered three first-round draft picks in addition to multiple players. In return, their trade offer was denied.
Once rejected, the Bears made their first destructive move of the offseason by signing veteran Andy Dalton to a one-year deal. Dalton hasn’t had a winning season as a starter since 2015, and previously went 4-5 under center for the Dallas Cowboys; a team that should have made the playoffs based on their talent.
The Bears replaced Trubisky, a quarterback criticized for his mediocracy in big moments, with Dalton. If named the starter, it could force Chicago to another 8-8 season.
The Bears retained their best receiver in Allen Robinson on the franchise tag, but failed to really anyone else to this point in free agency. The front office had the opportunity to sign a proven receiver such as Curtis Samuel or JuJu Smith-Schuster, but didn’t.
From there, the Bears decided to save some money and cut veteran leaders on defense, including cornerback Kyle Fuller. The transaction saved $11 million in cap space, but he was a cornerstone piece of Chicago’s defense.
The collection of transactions have fans calling for Pace to be fired. He is in the process of dismantling a defense that isn’t broken and signing a quarterback that is a mirror image of the one you recently departed from. Fans are growing tiresome, and that is justified. If Chicago continues to be on this trend, they will be forced to undergo a steep rebuild process.
