The Chicago Bears are planning to be active on the veteran quarterback market in a couple of weeks. Like every other team, they're anxious to see how things take shape. As March 18th draws closer, it's becoming clearer than ever that the most important domino to fall that will kick things off is Tom Brady. Despite being 42-years old, the six-time Super Bowl champion is the most talked-about name in free agency. Everybody is waiting to see what he does.
Some say he'll stay in New England, but a growing chorus believes he will actually leave. It's 50/50 at this point. The current favorite to land him is the Tennessee Titans. The connection is obvious with head coach Mike Vrabel being Brady's former teammate. However, Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston is hearing another unexpected team is rapidly rising up the board.
One that could alter how the Bears approach the market.
Tom Brady unseating Garoppolo could be huge for Bears
Aside from Garoppolo possibly watching his job get taken by the shadow he tried to escape for years in New England, to think he'd get so unceremoniously dumped after coming just minutes from winning the Super Bowl is rough. The connection though is obvious. Brady is from California and grew up a huge 49ers fan. Getting a chance to play for his childhood team has to sound appealing, especially since that team is geared up for another run at a title.
This would put Garoppolo on the market with teams likely interested in trading for his services. The Bears might make sense. Garoppolo is a native of Arlington Heights, Illinois. He became a star at Eastern Illinois. Getting to come back to play for his own hometown team would be a nice consolation prize. The problem is money. Garoppolo carries a $26.6 cap number into 2020. That would eat up all the space the Bears have and then some.
They'd have to clear more space with cuts and possible restructures of their payroll in addition to giving up a draft pick. It's not impossible, but it's not likely. If they did it, they'd have control of him for the next three seasons and could cut him in 2021, saving $24.1 million if it doesn't work.
There is another benefit to this though.
Most agree that if Brady did go to San Francisco, the team that would make a move to get Garoppolo is the Patriots. Bill Belichick never wanted to trade him back in 2017 but didn't have much choice. Now he'd be able to get him back with no guaranteed money to worry about. For the Bears, this would eat up one of the biggest potential landing spots for other quarterbacks on the market.
Either way, the Bears could stand to benefit at quarterback if they're serious about making a move.
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