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Chicago Bears are zeroing in on their next quarterback. Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley are already gone. Jay Cutler doesn't appear too far behind. Only Connor Shaw remains. This team has to find more bodies for that vital position and their first serious target seems to have emerged in the form of the lanky 6'6" Mike Glennon.
A former third round pick and backup of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Glennon started 18 games for them. He went 5-13, threw for over 4,000 yards and posted 29 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. Arguments over his validity as a potential starter after two full seasons without playing meaningful snaps are ongoing and heated. Some think he's worth a look, others are asking how in the world the Bears can justify him being a better option than Cutler or Hoyer.
Those questions will be answered with the next couple days if and when Glennon signs his new deal with the team. What nobody could've expected is how this move could potentially impact one of their most bitter rivals. In a way that could have an undesired effect from their point of view.
Perhaps the thing that has many people upset and bewildered about the Glennon signing is the potential numbers in play. According to Ian Rapoport, expectations are it will be a three-year deal at $15 million dollars per seasons. Guarantees and bonuses are unknown but the number is pretty striking. A $45 million deal for a guy who hasn't played a significant snap of football since 2014? That just doesn't compute.
Not even when cap experts explain that such a deal would still fall outside the top 20 of the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL. This man can't possibly warrant that amount of money. Forget basic economics. It seems Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers agrees. His reaction when word began to break about Glennon's potential deal was eye-opening.
This is undoubtedly a situation the Packers were hoping to avoid. They've done a good job to this point glossing over the fact that Rodgers is only the fifth-highest paid QB in the league. Despite clear evidence he's better than Joe Flacco, Kirk Cousins, Andrew Luck and is probably a smidgen ahead of Drew Brees. He's the best quarterback in the land, with respect to Tom Brady, and is finally starting to feel like he should be paid that way.
This wouldn't have a beneficial impact to the Packers salary cap, forcing them to devote more room in order to keep their quarterback happy. At the same time making it more difficult to keep their own players or sign free agents.
