Could the Chicago Bears realistically land the best 2020 free agent quarterback?
We need to be careful as rumors fly around the NFL like crazy this time of year. One of those rumors came from Michael Irvin regarding Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott. Could he be on the move? Could the Chicago Bears land him?
Nope, not Tom Brady. You heard it here first. The best free-agent quarterback of 2020 when you factor in everything, including age and injury history is Dak Prescott. He might not be the best quarterback of the 2020 free-agent class when it comes to just the 2020 season. However, when you look at Prescott and the position as a whole, he is clearly the top option. Can the Chicago Bears find a way to bring him in to replace Mitchell Trubisky though?
Prescott has a 40-24 record as a starter. He has the second-most wins since entering the NFL in 2016. He has an average quarterback rating of 97 percent. He has a nearly 3:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. I am not saying Prescott will have a better career than Tom Brady or Drew Brees, but at this point, at his age, he is easily the best free-agent quarterback on the market.
Rumors are swirling around thanks to Michael Irvin about the Cowboys wanting to franchise tag Prescott and then trade him, while also signing Tom Brady to replace him. This seems like a longshot, but it is not out of the realm of possibilities. Many things would need to fall into place for both teams involved, but could the Chicago Bears be interested in making a trade like this? We know how aggressive Ryan Pace can be, especially with his draft picks.
If the Cowboys were to franchise tag Prescott, he will be paid somewhere around $27 million in 2020. This might be difficult for some teams to swallow, but honestly, if the Chicago Bears have decided Mitchell Trubisky is not the guy, they could make the money work. With specific cuts, Pace can come up with somewhere between $40 and $50 million in cap space.
Giving Prescott between 54 and 68 percent of that salary cap space is probably not ideal, but nothing is stopping any team that trades for Prescott from signing him to a long-term deal. While doing this, Pace can possibly lower the cap hit for 2020 and spread it out over the length of the contract. Rumors are floating around that Prescott wants $40 million per season. Realistically he will likely see between $33 and $34 million per year.
Beyond the money, the Chicago Bears would need to give up something in the trade. What would a guy like Prescott cost? There would need to be a 2021 first-round draft pick involved. The Bears would have a hard time coming up with the draft capital needed for a move like this. Instead, I could see a team like the Miami Dolphins using one or two of their 2020 first-round picks to land Prescott if the Cowboys truly made the Prescott and Brady move happen.
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Although I do not believe this comes to fruition, apparently some analysts outside of the Cowboys organization have been talking about it. As I said, we need to be careful with rumors, but that should not stop us from living a pipe dream and thinking about the possibility. What would you give up to land Dak Prescott and pay him $33 to $34 million per season?