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53-Man Roster Prediction: Quarterback

By Bill Zimmerman

CANTON, OH - AUGUST 02: Chase Daniel #4 of the Chicago Bears looks to pass in the first quarter of the Hall of Fame Game against the Baltimore Ravens at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 2, 2018 in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CANTON, OH - AUGUST 02: Chase Daniel #4 of the Chicago Bears looks to pass in the first quarter of the Hall of Fame Game against the Baltimore Ravens at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 2, 2018 in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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What quarterbacks are will be on the Chicago Bears 53-man roster week one against the Packers? We examine.

The Chicago Bears 53-man roster is starting to come into focus. There are already probably about 40 to 45 spots that are locks for the season, but it’s the bottom of the roster that gets really interesting in August. We begin another series looking at the Chicago Bears roster, position by position. We begin with the quarterback position.

There’s no reason to spend any time focusing on the top two spots at quarterback. Mitch Trubisky is guaranteed a roster spot and will start. Chase Daniel is guaranteed a roster spot and will backup Trubisky. The question with this group is Tyler Bray.

Bray signed a 1-year, $795,000 contract with the Bears this past offseason, but it’s important to note that only $45,000 of that is fully guaranteed in the form of a roster bonus. Bray receives another contract bonus of $45,000 if he makes the active roster week one.

Bray was brought in because he spent the last several years on the Kansas City Chiefs and knows Matt Nagy and the offense quite well. As the Bears installed a new offense, having another QB that knows what he’s doing and can help bring Trubisky along was an intelligent move. Any additional mind that Trubisky can pick during OTAs and training camp will only help him learn the offense quicker and become a better quarterback.

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Last season, the Bears chose to keep Mark Sanchez on for the full year to help Trubisky all season long. Would the Bears do that again this season with Bray?

After watching the Hall of Fame game, it’s obvious that Bray brings no value to the Bears as a backup quarterback, other than knowing the system. He struggled in the game and it’s clear that he’s zero competition to Chase Daniel to back up Trubisky. The question with Bray becomes if it’s worth having 3 QBs on the 53-man roster on a weekly basis.

Bray is too old to be on the practice squad, so that isn’t an option. The Bears will either keep Bray as QB3 or let him go. When the Chiefs traded Alex Smith and elevated Pat Mahomes to the starting position, they had the option to keep Bray as their QB2, they chose to let him go and brought in Chad Henne and Matt McGloin. That’s not a ringing endorsement from Andy Reid.

The honest truth is that Bray isn’t good enough to be picked up by another team if the Bears release him. With most teams keeping two QBs these days, the market for Bray will be virtually nonexistent. With Nagy and Trubisky bonding and Dave Ragone (QB Coach) kept from last season for some continuity for Trubisky, it just doesn’t seem overly valuable to use a precious roster spot on a third QB.

The smart move for the Bears is to let Bray go at the end of the preseason and if something happens to Daniel or Trubisky and the Bears need to sign an additional QB, they can be virtually certain that Bray will be at home on the sofa ready to take the call and sign with the Bears as their emergency QB2.

53-Man Roster Prediction: QUARTERBACK (2): Mitch Trubisky, Chase Daniel

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