Chicago Bears: Cam Newton not enough to fix this team

As Mitchell Tribusky has not lived up to his hype from last year, rumors are that the Chicago Bears will pursue Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. The Bears have bigger questions facing them regardless of who is behind center next season.

Rumors are swirling around that the Chicago Bears are going to look for a new quarterback next season. One of those quarterbacks being named is Cam Newton. Newton has only played 2 games in 2019 after sustaining a Lisfranic injury and has had some concussion injuries in his career before 2019. He is on injured reserve and before going on IR, Newton passed for a combined 572 yards and 0 touchdowns before being replaced by Kyle Allen.

When the rubber hits the road

How effective would he be if the Bears were to trade for him? He turned 30 in March and the general rule of thumb is that when athletes turn 30, they tend to go on the decline. However, the competitiveness of Newton is a reason for optimism should he be fully healthy when the new NFL season officially starts in March.

Fox Sports Colin Cowherd believes that the Chicago Bears need to move on with Tribusky. “Win now, because Trubisky’s a bust. I hate to say that, but he is,” Cowherd says. “They can’t afford another college kid that doesn’t work. [General manager] Ryan Pace gets another college kid that doesn’t work, Ryan Pace is never a GM again. Cam’s not a bust.”

Noteworthy is that Tribusky has one year left in his contract and it is unknown what the team is going to do when that decision has to be made. The Bears offense is ranked 27th best in the NFL and the entire blame is more than one player but Tribusky has been a lightning rod when the team has struggled.

Before his injuries, Newton has been known as a quarterback who can escape a linebacker or defensive end chasing him and can make a play that looks like a major loss in yards into a positive gain of yards.

If the Bears are going to make a serious move for Newton, it is imperative that he recovers from his foot injury and does not suffer any major setbacks that could derail his full recovery by March. It is a good idea for the Bears to look at moving on from Tribusky. However, to think that getting a new quarterback and that’s all the Bears have to do to become a playoff contender is going to disappoint some people.

Who will be the reliable tight end? Trey Burton is likely to miss the remainder of the season and Adam Shaheen has been a bust in his three seasons. The offensive line has been another weak link as Kyle Long, who is the most notable player on the O-line is on injured reserve. To put the O-line woes into perspective, this play from last week’s game is emblematic.

To put the Bears situation in context with Tom Brady and the Patriots, despite Brady being 42, a major reason why he is still playing at that age is that the Patriots have been able to protect their quarterback, thus the season-ending injuries have not happened often with Brady.

A new quarterback is something the team should consider but the bigger issue is the offensive line. A good quarterback is only as good as his offensive line and an all-star quarterback often is a mediocre one with an offensive line that can actually protect their quarterback.