Peter King: Bears 'Screwed' at Quarterback Barring Miracle
Bears fans have followed every quarterback trade rumor with gusto this offseason, hopeful their team could swing a deal for either Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson. Unfortunately, a big bucket of cold water was just dropped straight down on their collective heads courtesy of respected NFL insider Peter King.
In his weekly Monday column, King addressed the Bears quarterback situation and didn't paint a pretty picture of what fans should expect in 2021, writing" "short of a miracle, the Bears are screwed" at the quarterback position. King added a trade for Wilson, "seems like a futile pipe dream," based on the limited trade chips the Bears have at their disposal.
That's not the truth sandwich Bears fans wanted shoved down their throats this morning, but it is accurate. The Bears have the 20th, 52nd and 83rd overall picks in this year's draft, future draft picks and players like Khalil Mack and (gulp) Nick Foles they could trade in return for a quarterback. The reported asking price for Watson is two firsts, two seconds and two starters, though the Texans say they won't trade him. One can assume Wilson would command a similar haul, if not more. The Bears' picks and players (outside of Mack, who has become injury-prone recently) are simply not as appealing as keeping a star quarterback.
Before you start cursing King's name, Bears fans, he did offer you a solution, saying the team should try to trade for Marcus Mariota. While he's not nearly as enticing as Wilson or Watson, the asking price is more realistic. Mariota looked solid in relief of an injured Derek Carr in 2020 and could offer a stopgap solution at quarterback for the Bears. At a minimum, he should be better than just going with Foles again.
The Bears are in this position because Ryan Pace has failed in two trades he hoped would land the franchise a quarterback they could rely on. But Mitch Trubisky and Foles both failed after Pace traded picks for their services. With his job on the line this season and his history of bad trades for quarterbacks, Pace isn't the guy you want making a bigger trade for a quarterback now anyway. Better to kick the can down the road and see if you get lucky with someone like Mariota than go all-in for someone like Wilson or Watson. Then again, as King said, the Bears don't have the trade assets to swing those deals anyway so better to forget it altogether.