Sam Darnold is the last prediction for the next Bears quarterback

Sam Darnold is the last prediction for the next Bears quarterback

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I’ll be honest, a sense of relief washed over me after news of Carson Wentz’s trade finally broke out. It can be exciting to obsessively follow all the rumors that connect the Bears to a potential commercial target (whose future holds the cards for so many members of the organization), but it is also very exhausting. Unfortunately, just because a chapter is over does not mean the story is over.

Wentz will join the Colts, yes, but we are obsessed with what’s left in the pile.

Next on the watch list, Sam Darnold:

ESPN NFL insider Field Yates took on the task of predicting each of the league’s starting quarterbacks for 2021. Some selections were easy. Patrick Mahomes is not going to leave the Chiefs for a long time. And Tom Brady is the Buccaneer’s signal caller until he doesn’t want to. But, as we discussed earlier, there is potential for high turnover for a good part of the league. And when it comes to the Chicago Bears, Yates predicts that the team’s big shot will come in the form of a recovery project.

Hello, Sam Darnold?

With Yates predicting the Zets Wilson draft of the Jets with the second overall choice, Darnold – the third overall choice in the 2018 NFL Draft – appears to be on the way out. Yates believes it could be through exchange, noting how Darnold has people within league circles who still believe in his talent. Could the Bears have these people? Yates seems to think so:

Why would Chicago be willing to commit to Darnold in an exchange and (probably) a fifth-year option, when the Jets wouldn’t? Simple. GM Ryan Pace of the bears needs to be much more focused on 2021 than on life beyond it. Darnold represents a likely upgrade from what the Bears have, and there is certainly a chance that he could rise under different circumstances than he had in New York. But honestly, it is difficult to define the next Bears match.

We can debate Darnold as an upgrade until we’re navy blue. But Yates is right to say that Chicago should have a laser focus in 2021 with an immediate update in mind. But Darnold – really? Darnold is coming out of a pitiful season in which he launched more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (9). It was a year in which he completed less than 60 percent of his passes, showing the worst career worst in yards / attempt (6.1) and yards / game (184.0), ending with a passer rating of 72.7 .

Based on Webster’s definition of update, I don’t think so.

And yet, I think Yates makes the most important point with his final sentence when he writes: “It is difficult to define the next Bears beginner”. GM Ryan Pace is unpredictable. And, except for the Wentz conversation that preceded the past few weeks, it worked well in working in the shadows. Therefore, it is difficult to define the Bears and make a forecast with confidence.

With that said, at least there are no delusions of grandeur when it comes to how the return of a Darnold business would be:

There will not be several floating choices in the first round. Hell, even a first round (which was already believed to be the current rate) doesn’t even seem the right price if the report’s starting point is a second round. Perhaps something similar to what Miami sent to Arizona to pick up Josh Rosen is sensible compensation (the Dolphins sent second and fifth round choices to the Cardinals)? Like Darnold, Rosen did not live up to high expectations. But there is potential pedigree and post-exaggeration buzz that just won’t go away when discussing a recent first round choice.

In the end, now that two important names are off the board, let’s move on to the next one. And there we go …

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