Nobody wants to say the words because they hurt too much. Especially so early in the offseason. Yet they must be said. The Chicago Bears are not landing a legitimate top 15 quarterback. Deshaun Watson? Dak Prescott? Derek Carr? They're fun what-ifs. Sadly they're also pipe dreams. The same goes for Zach Wilson and Justin Fields in the draft. The amount of resources it would require to land any of those names, even if it were remotely possible, is enormous. It's time to start thinking about practical solutions. So why not Gardner Minshew?
The title was meant to grab attention for a reason. Nobody would consider the former 6th round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars a top veteran option even among the second-tier guys. Most conversations start with Sam Darnold, Marcus Mariota, Andy Dalton, and even Alex Smith. People tend to dismiss the Minshew idea as a pointless endeavor. Why is that? They shouldn't. There are multiple reasons for the Bears to consider him as a viable choice.
Let's just start with the most obvious: cost.
Taken late in the 2019 NFL draft, Minshew is now 25-years old. He has two years left on his rookie contract. The cap hits during those two years? Just $897,000 in 2021 and $1.012 million in 2022. Remember the Bears are currently projected to be over the NFL salary cap by anywhere from $3-5 million. Finding a quarterback who can be a bargain for their payroll would be a much-needed boost. Jacksonville holds the #1 overall pick in the upcoming draft. Barring a complete surprise, expectations are they will select Clemson standout Trevor Lawrence to be their new quarterback. This will relegate Minshew to a backup role for the Jaguars. That is unless a team is willing to give up something for him in a trade. A recent example is Buffalo trading Tyrod Taylor to Cleveland for a 3rd round pick given they had plans to select Josh Allen in the draft that year. It's fair to say Minshew would cost somewhere between a 3rd and a 5th. This would enable the Bears to retain their limited cap space and top draft choices to fortify the rest of the offensive roster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjGGBi5POIg&ab_channel=SportsProductionsThe second argument? Gardner Minshew actually isn't half bad
Let's break this down. People are more than eager to go after guys like Darnold and Mariota because they're former high draft choices, still relatively young, and remain physically gifted. Yet their performances can't line up with Minshew in terms of quality.Last 20 starts:
Minshew- 62.9 completion percentage
- 5,530 passing yards
- 37 TDs
- 11 INTs
- 93.1 passer rating
- 60.22 completion percentage
- 4,155 passing yards
- 22 TDs
- 15 INTs
- 81.4 passer rating
Mariota
- 65.36 completion percentage
- 3,841 passing yards
- 19 TDs
- 10 INTs
- 92.1 passer rating







