A Cheaper Alternative for the Chicago Bears at Quarterback
If Ryan Pace doesn’t land one of his top targets for quarterback, AJ McCarron might be a reasonable option.
Everyone knows that the Chicago Bears need a new quarterback in 2017. Jay Cutler is all but gone, and the Bears are looking to head in a new, younger direction. The Bears have several directions they could go, but what GM Ryan Pace is actually able to pull off is another question.
The first obvious choice is to select one of the top QBs in the draft with the third overall pick (Deshaun Watson, DeShone Kizer, Mitch Trubisky). Drafting a quarterback that high comes with significant risk. First of all, the Bears will almost certainly start him from day one, which means the Bears are looking at another rebuilding season. Second, if the Bears get the QB wrong, it will set the franchise back multiple years and cost Pace his job. Third, Pace’s draft strategy is to take the best player available, and if they do that, one of the three quarterbacks, even if all of them are available, would not be BPA. It would be a bit of a stretch to land a QB.
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The other popular option is to trade for New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. While this seems like the Bears first choice, the Patriots may not make Garoppolo available if reporters from Ed Werder and Peter King are true.
If the Bears decide against drafting a QB at three and can’t pry Garoppolo away from the Patriots, the Bears will have to look elsewhere for a new quarterback. Tyrod Taylor could be an option, but that is a difficult situation to maneuver through and is a significant amount of cash for the next five years.
The Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback, AJ McCarron, hasn’t had a lot of noise around him this offseason, but perhaps he should. McCarron only has one season left on his rookie deal and then he will be an unrestricted free agent. The Bengals have invested in Andy Dalton and won’t be able to keep both quarterbacks. if they don’t trade McCarron this offseason, they are going to lose him completely without compensation.
When the Bengals shopped McCarron in 2016 they were looking for a first round pick. No team considered those demands and the Bengals kept him one more season, but this offseason, that demand will have to drop.
McCarron was coming off a good run in 2015 when Dalton was hurt, and the team receiving McCarron would have had him under control for two years not one at a rookie contract price. Now, the Bengals know they have to move him or lose him.
The first round demand, will almost certainly drop to a second round demand, depending on how the quarterback market shakes out, that demand could even fall to a third round pick. Being that McCarron was originally a fifth round pick, flipping him for a third rounder is still a big win for Cincinnati.
Even if the Bears give up a second round pick for McCarron (with a reasonable contract extension), the price is still cheaper than committing to Taylor, giving up the ransom for Garoppolo, or using the third pick on a QB. McCarron has shown the ability to play at the NFL level and some scouts say they like McCarron’s skillset even more than Garoppolo.
If the Bears nab McCarron, they could still use a mid-round pick on a rookie quarterback and give themselves two potential future QBs if, for whatever reason, McCarron doesn’t have what it takes. If the Bears stick with their BPA strategy and Garoppolo isn’t on the market, Ryan Pace needs a new plan, and making a move for McCarron might be exactly what this team needs.
Bill Zimmerman is an editor and featured writer for FanSided‘s BearGogglesOn. Like his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter for more news and interaction.