The Chicago Bears figure to be a big part of the action this 2017 offseason. They have money to burn and high draft picks to spend. However, they can often be at the mercy of action out of their control. Big actions by teams who are trying like mad to improve just like they are. It's always about how such changes alter their strategy.
With free agency less than a week away, the rumor mill is spinning faster than ever before. Over the past two seasons, one thing that has take a serious uptick? Trades. It started with the Jimmy Graham blockbuster in 2015 between Seattle and New Orleans. Then last year it was Tennessee and Cleveland dealing the #1 and #2 picks in the draft respectively. Could 2017 possibly top all that?
Based on the bomb Ian Rapoport dropped recently, it just might. Seems there are rumblings that a deal could be in the works involving not two but three teams.
The magnitude of such a trade is difficult grasp. Put simply it would of course involve Cousins going to San Francisco to reunite with his old coach, Kyle Shanahan. Dallas would give the Redskins Tony Romo and get a nice return of draft picks. What makes this easy to believe is a couple keys. Reports have said San Francisco is the only team Cousins would sign an extension with besides Washington. They also said Romo wants to join a contender, but also a team that plays Dallas this season. The Redskins of course qualify for both. They face the Cowboys twice and have posted a winning record the past two years. It sounds unusual that Dallas would trade with a divisional rival, but it's something Washington did a few years ago when they took Donovan McNabb from Philadelphia. So presuming there is more than just smoke there, just how big an impact could this have on the Bears? There are plenty of different scenarios but here are two that could be exciting for Chicago. Both hinge on who ends up with the #2 overall pick when the dust settles. If it's the 49ers, they'll have their quarterback in place, so they are most definitely going with the best player on the board. Likely a defender. Presuming the Cleveland Browns select pass rusher Myles Garrett #1 overall as most expect, that means the Bears will have their choice of every quarterback in the entire draft. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcsF2Q6Rgdk&t=3s Mitch Trubisky, Deshaun Watson, Deshone Kizer or Patrick Mahomes? All of them will be on the table, giving the Bears the best possible odds of finally landing a franchise player under center. Don't forget that this team has not been the first to take a QB in a draft since 1951. They've only done it twice in the entire history of the draft. One of those picks was Sid Luckman, their lone Hall of Famer at the position. Then there is the other possibility. Word is that Washington and San Francisco could be entering talks for a monumental exclusive trade. No third party but definitely gigantic implications.
It's difficult to believe that Dallas would trade Romo to Washington, both because it's a division rival but also cap considerations. Romo's contract isn't easy to move at over $24 million. Then there is the simple reality he may not want to play there. Word is he has his sights set on either Denver or Houston. Thus Washington will instead make a straight deal with San Francisco for rights to the #2 pick. That's where it really gets interesting. By that point the Redskins will have no realistic quarterback on their roster. GM Scot McCloughan won't have many options in free agency. Certainly none who offers what Cousins has. Thus the odds are strong they will take a quarterback at that pick. Why is it interesting? Because of the buzz coming from Cleveland regarding their plans for the #1 overall pick. According Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, the Browns are zeroing in on a quarterback at that spot. One in particular.
"The Browns are strongly considering drafting hometown boy Mitch Trubisky No. 1 overall, league sources tell cleveland.com. Trubisky, the Mentor, Ohio, native, checked off one of Hue Jackson's major boxes Thursday when he measured 6-foot-2 1/8 at the NFL Combine. One top NFL personnel executive told cleveland.com Thursday that he'd definitely take Trubisky No. 1 now that he measured over 6-1. "He's got size, he can move, he sees the field, has a big arm and more upside than Carson Wentz last year. They'd be set,'' he said."Now follow the logic. Cleveland takes Trubisky at #1. Washington can't afford to get out of the first round without a quarterback, and the best choices are few. So they'll have to take one as well. That means the Bears could very well see Myles Garrett, the best overall prospect in the 2017 class, fall right into their laps.
[video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Myles-Garrett-vs-Alabama-Highlight-NFL-Videos.mp4"][/video] Can you imagine the idea of this physical specimen being on the opposite side of Leonard Floyd? Quarterbacks would have nightmares the entire week before playing the Bears. Then they'd have PTSD afterwards. Garrett is considered one of those exceedingly rare talents that come around maybe once or twice a decade. Not only athletic and fast, but surprisingly big and long on top of it.
That is a grown man right there. One who makes other grown men, many who are bigger than him, look like children. He has all the trappings of a future All-Pro pass rusher in the NFL. The Bears defense would be set up for the next 5-6 years with such an alignment. Either that or they have the rare luxury of taking any quarterback they wish. There is still much that can happen and there's no guarantee this deal goes down. If it does though, it's amazing to think about the number of ways it might actually help them without intending to.
