Scout Says Bears Have "Already Talked" to Possible QB Acquisition

The Chicago Bears aren't going to tell anybody which QBs they may or may not be looking at on the veteran market. This hasn't stopped plenty of inside NFL people from voicing their opinions and what they're hearing about it. Most seem to think they are seeking a highly experienced veteran with lots of starts under his belt. This is why the hot name over the past week has been Andy Dalton.

It's no secret the former Pro Bowler is on the outs with the Cincinnati Bengals. They are likely to draft Joe Burrow 1st overall in April. Dalton, 32-years old, wants to join a new team where he'll have a chance to starter. The Bears, who employ his former offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, would seem to make sense.

Dave-Te' Thomas, who has scouted and provided information to the NFL going back to the late 1960s for Scout Services Inc. told former CNN Sports anchor Paul Crane on the "Scout's Honor" podcast that communication between the Bears and Dalton is much further along than some think.

"Now Trubisky is probably going to end up with competition from what I hear is that Cincinnati already granted permission and Chicago has already talked to Andy Dalton."

Chicago Bears could already have a deal in place

It was reported before this that the Bears had been in contact with Cincinnati about Dalton. However, no details were provided. This seems to indicate they are deeper in discussions that first anticipated. No doubt Dalton would have interest in Chicago given Lazor's presence but there is a big hurdle in place.

His contract.

Dalton will carry a $17.7 million cap hit into 2020. For a team like the Bears who have just $26 million in total space, that is too much. Odds are they would want to get a feeling from Dalton's camp about taking a pay cut. Similar to what Ryan Tannehill did before getting traded to the Tennessee Titans last year. Miami lowered his deal to $7 million for 2019 with a chance to earn an additional $5 million in incentives.

If Dalton is open to this, then it's possible the two sides might already have a deal in place. Odds are we'll learn more as free agency draws closer on March 18th.