Should Chicago Bears re-think backup quarterback this offseason?
The Chicago Bears have four games left in the NFL season, but most fans have shifted their attention to the offseason. While the hot take segments will still come about the starter for the Bears, the real question may come to who the backup quarterback is.
Should Chicago Bears find a mobile backup quarterback?
You typically want to be able to drop your backup quarterback into the same offense that you practiced all week, and not change things when a new signal caller steps in. The Chicago Bears cannot currently do that.
During the first seven weeks of the season you could argue that if Justin Fields went down, Trevor Siemian could run the current playbook. However, the playbook fit the backup more than the starter, and Luke Getsy adjusted.
So, when Justin Fields got hurt, and the team had to roll with Trevor Siemian, they had to stop all of the progress they made with their current offense, and revert back to what they were running earlier in the season.
It should not be so tough that you have to change the whole offense. One team that is notably good at this is the Baltimore Ravens. Tyler Huntley is not an elite quarterback, and they may have had better options for a backup, but they keep him around because he can run a similar offense to what Lamar Jackson brings to the table. Before Huntley, it was Robert Griffin with a similar idea.
Mitch Trubisky would not be who you want to start, but he did make sense as the backup to Josh Allen. The Chicago Bears have to start to think like this with their backup.
They do not have to completely abandon a pocket quarterback for a runner, but they need more mobility than Siemian is currently bringing. Bryce Perkins and Phillip Walker are free-agent quarterbacks who may be easier to come in and run the offense that they will build around Justin Fields moving forward.
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Keep an eye on what the team does with Siemian and Nathan Peterman, and if they do go this route, which should signal that the team is all-in on building around the skills of Justin Fields.