CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – JANUARY 03: Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater #5 of the Carolina Panthers looks to pass during the first quarter of their game against the New Orleans Saints at Bank of America Stadium on January 03, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
The Bears should be on the phone with the Panthers to trade for Teddy Bridgewater and fix their current offseason mess.
The Chicago Bears entered the offseason with Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles as the two quarterbacks on the depth chart. They are now set to enter 2021 with Andy Dalton as the starter. Is that even an upgrade?
The Carolina Panthers may have given the Bears a chance at a do-over. Matt Rhule’s club just traded for Sam Darnold and that should mean they are looking to move Teddy Bridgewater. Bears GM Ryan Pace should jump on that opportunity.
Bears should make a trade for Teddy Bridgewater
One caveat to this discussion is that Bridgewater has nearly a $23 million cap hit in 2021. That goes up to $26 million in 2022, but his dead cap value drops to $5 million in what is the final year of his deal.
This offseason has shown us that NFL teams can get extremely creative when it comes to making contracts work with a limited budget. So the Bears should be able to make it work somehow.
Let’s forget about the money for just a minute. Pace has proved he is getting unlimited chances in Chicago. He is hyping up Dalton as some legendary quarterback and all fans can do is wonder how ownership sees this as a good situation.
The crazy thing is the Bears still made the playoffs last season. Trubisky and Foles managed to guide the team to the postseason, only to flail on offense against the New Orleans Saints. So this team could easily compete for a Super Bowl with competent quarterback play.
The dream scenarios, such as landing Russell Wilson, don’t appear to be possible anymore. But the Panthers have a need to move Bridgewater and Pace should come to his senses and realize that a 33-year-old Dalton is not the answer in Chicago if the GM wants a job in 2022. Bridgewater certainly has a higher ceiling in 2021.