A Successful Mike Glennon Is Crucial To Ryan Pace's Master Plan

People are still trying to digest the logic behind the Ryan Pace Mike Glennon maneuver. It doesn't make sense. If he always planned to take Mitch Trubisky, then why pay $18.5 million in guaranteed money for Glennon? Several GMs around the league were quotes as saying they didn't quite understand it. Maybe that's because most of them don't see the big picture. Most GMs these days are focused on the "one-game-at-a-time" philosophy. Or in this case the one season at a time. They ask themselves how can they improve the roster to make it a winner that given year. It's apparent from almost everything he's done to this point that Pace is much more focused on the long view. People might not believe this, but Glennon plays an integral part to that plan. What that part is remains to be determined. If one thing is clear though, pretty much anything he does from this point forward can be spun as a positive for the Bears. How is that possible?

The Ryan Pace Mike Glennon master plan

When Chicago drafted Trubisky, most Bears fans began to see the Glennon signing in a different light. To some he's just the placeholder now. A veteran who can play the position at a decent level until the "franchise" is ready for action. That's a fair idea. It's also just one part of the plan. Jeff Dickerson of ESPN explained another, even more intriguing part of it that helps the Bears in the long view.

"If Glennon does well in 2017, and Trubisky develops and the Bears want him to start in 2018, then Chicago absolutely should look to trade Glennon next offseason. Sure, Glennon would be a solid No. 2 (theoretically next year) but he’s not going to want to be a backup. Why do you think he left Tampa for Chicago in the first place? The Bucs offered to make Glennon the league’s highest-paid backup, but he wanted a chance to start, which he found in Chicago (albeit seemingly temporarily). All of Chicago should root for Glennon’s success. There is absolutely no downside here."

That is not an untrue statement. When looking at the situation from a wide-angle lens the truth is the Bears are set up quite well regardless of what happens.

If he's great:

That's fantastic. The QB position is solved. Chicago is suddenly loaded at the position and can feel free to trade Trubisky at a later date. After all there's bound to be some teams interested in acquiring the young talent who should have at least a year of NFL coaching under his belt by then.

If he's good:

This will prove quite fruitful in 2018. Glennon will be just 29-years old by that point and most of the guaranteed money in his contract already paid. At the very least Chicago should be able to deal him to a QB-needy team to get back that third round pick they had to give up in the Trubisky trade with San Francisco. Remember Seattle got a fifth rounder for Matt Flynn back in 2013 just one year after signing him.

If he underwhelms:

Then they'll know for sure that Glennon was always destined to be a backup. This isn't such a bad thing. Trubisky will assume the mantle in 2018 and the Bears will have an experienced, professional reserve for at least two more years. By the time his contract ends will be the time Chicago hopefully is prepared to hand Trubisky a new contract. All the bases are covered for Pace. Sure, Glennon might not be happy that he once again has to face stiff competition for the job. It's basically Tampa Bay all over again with Jameis Winston. This time though is a little different. Chicago is giving him a chance to prove that job belongs to him. The Bucs had no such intention. If he wants to show the NFL he can be the guy for a team, this is his chance. Eventually the sting of the Trubisky pick will dissipate. Pace knows that. Glennon, at the end of the day, is a pro. If he can't handle competition, he'll never be a successful starter in the NFL. At this point is doesn't matter what he does. Every outcome should come out as a positive in some way for the franchise.