One QB Connected To Chicago Bears as Trade Deadline Looms

The Chicago Bears indicated that their plans are to move forward with Mitch Trubisky as their starting quarterback. Matt Nagy said as much during his recent press conference. However, this could easily be viewed as misdirection with the trade deadline looming. While a move for quarterback doesn't feel likely, crazier things have happened when GM Ryan Pace is involved.

So is there anything out there to remotely consider the possibility? Adam Schefter provided a small morsel during an interview with "Kap & Company" on ESPN 1000. He indicated that San Francisco 49ers backup C.J. Beathard is likely to get moved before the upcoming deadline and the price should be relatively cheap. In fact, he can see a scenario where the Bears could get him without surrendering a draft pick at all.

"The 49ers...if somebody made them an offer for a late round pick, they'd take it. Give them, I'm making this up, a six or a seven that turns to a six? Yeah they'd take that I think. Chicago might be worth a guy that open to them for like a six or seven. Maybe you go trade Taylor Gabriel. Actually you know what? Now that I think about it how about Taylor Gabriel for C.J. Beathard?"

That doesn't exactly feel like a balanced trade.

Gabriel is a productive starter for the Bears. Granted, the stats don't show it lately because of their QB issues, so his overall value is low. If the Bears felt Beathard could legitimately fit what they're trying to do, then giving up an underachieving receiver makes some sense. Fellow insider Benjamin Allbright backed up Schefter's belief that Beathard will be moved, but he has no idea regarding Gabriel.

What would the Chicago Bears get in Beathard?

Obviously when Bears fans hear Beathard's name mentioned, they're likely to panic. There's no way this team would view him as a legitimate starter would they? The short answer is probably not. Beathard has a career 57.3 completion percentage with 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. That doesn't exactly offer encouragement that he's in any way better than Trubisky. He's had a couple of solid games but is prone to turning the football over and taking a lot of hits (37 sacks in 13 games).

However, there is another way to look at this.

Beathard is 25-years old. He has 10 games of starting experience and is under contract through the 2020 season. Don't forget that veteran backup Chase Daniel's deal will expire this coming spring. By trading for Beathard, the Bears would get themselves a young, cheap replacement at the backup spot who has some game experience under his belt. In this context, it's actually not that bad of a move. It would allow the Bears to place their entire focus on finding a starter next offseason.