Chisoxfn

I think my other scenario holds true - Foles will be moved - and basically we will be in the exact same spot the franchise started the day with - except Dalton is your incumbent (vs. Foles) - and cap wise you are in essentially the same position. Bottom line - if Dalton>Foles - you have slightly increased your floor at a small increase in price (as Dalton + minor hit you take for moving Foles - if you can) is a net negative - but big picture - very small cap implication for having a better QB as your starting point while you continue to aggressively target other LT upgrades at the position (draft / Wilson / Watson / D'Arnold / Tua). Probably me trying to find the glass full / scenario where this actually makes a ton of strategic sense.

I don't think Foles cap hit is that bad for a team with a young QB. Heck - even the Eagles - is Foles a bad back-up for Hurts (if that is the route they are going). Foles is getting paid a fair deal for a solid back-up. I rip on Foles - but that is as a starter - as a back-up that can win you a couple games while your starter is hurt - he is a pretty good fit, especially for a team where their starter is on a rookie scale type of deal. What he isn't - is a good fit on this roster where you have Dalton + presumably another shot.

It all depends on how many teams are hunting that final QB...but I hope you are right. Unrelated - but I read this elsewhere - but apparently the Bears can structurally adjust the Foles contract and essentially trade Foles and take just a $1M cap hit. So if that were to actually play out (even if for a 7th round pick a year from now) - I think I would be 100% okay with Dalton being a better backup and/or bridge starter depending on what the team does over next 3 months. In fact - if you do that - you essentially are in no different of a spot as we started the day - with exception that Dalton is your starter (vs. Foles) if you can't swing big for Wilson/Watson/Trade-Up/Get one of the young QB's on the block. I will tell myself that is exactly what the Bears will do....but reality is that is probably too smart of an outcome and shows too much damn foresight .

Mariota isn't a free agent (I don't think) - so I'm assuming they didn't like the cost for Mariotta (which would include the use of draft picks) over Dalton (where it was just money).

I think you are 100% right here - probably not for much - like a conditional 6th or 7th - but I think he'll be moved.

I'd get on board with this. I don't that would get them a top pick - but if it could - I would be 100% okay with that.

I'm convinced of this and any report saying Bears think Dalton is the starter is really just them trying to put some smoke around their actual intentions. It could also be wishful thinking on my part.

I double-down on this. That said - if they don't think they can leap frog and/or they don't like their chances to do so - than I guess at that point - there isn't much better a path than the one they are going down. But if that were the case - I would have played the game of chicken and waited to see if Ryan, D'Arnold, and / or Tua became available vs. inking Dalton now. This has to be Bears messaging to try and give them some leverage in talks with other teams when it comes to moving up, etc? Has to be.

Did he really say they are going after Alex Smith? Or more that they aren't done remaking the QB room. I fully believe that we will see them (attempt) to trade up and get one of the top QB's in the draft (or acquire a Tua/D'Arnold as a fall out) and/or continue to make a play at Wilson/Watson. I don't see how a 1yr deal for Dalton prevents them from eventually making a deal on Watson/Wilson. If you get to that point - where there is a will - there is a way. I am curious to see if they move on from Foles, what they do with Robinson, and where else and how they choose to tie-up their remaining cap space.

I have to assume it is a C+/B- level QB (in their eyes) + a young upside move. Who knows - maybe they are about to acquire D'Arnold eventually. I don't know what to make of that either - bottom line - they were never running it back with Foles or Trubisky. This might be the same thing - if it is - a new front office will be there soon enough - but i assume it is this and another QB and I wonder if we see Foles moved. Not sure if you get any value - but his contract isn't awful for the above avg back-up that he is - so I could still see a situation where Bears move on, save a bit of cap space on Foles, while switching their bridge QB to Dalton. If that happens - I don't think I would necessarily fault that - but I am assuming that because I can't just see them sticking with Foles/Dalton. Like no way is that how Pace/Nagy are going to go down? Unless they are about to spend a bunch of money on defense and just say - we'll go with a game manager, draft some olineman and skill positions and spend more money on D and see if we can back into playoffs that way and save our job.

That is the big thing to me - the eye test has backed up a change and this actually dates back to pre-covid when he had his last call-up in 2019 (after he was initially sent down at some point earlier in 2019 - he seemed to make an adjustment - his minor league numbers reflected the bounce and than the small sample size in late 19 kind of confirmed it). But than COVID happened and we obviously have less visibility into what happened in Schaumburg - but the eye test seems to back up that it only looks even better than what started in 2019. In terms of 2020 - clearly there weren't at bats to go for Collins - given Grandal / McCann duo.

This - but in the court of public opinion - this move basically magnifies how bad the Foles move was. Reality is it is why all of the fan base is up in arms (and I don't blame them). But I'm just glad - if this was their panic move - it was a move that doesn't kill future cap space nor cost draft picks. Like I wanted Winston - but lets say Pace got into a bidding war with the Saints and offered Winston like $30M guaranteed and tied up cap space for the next 3-4 years. That would have been a far bigger disaster (on paper) - even if I liked the upside of the player more.

This is the cold hard facts - we probably aren't much (if any) better than Mitch and could easily be worse if father time / injuries have caught up to Dalton. Dalton is a 3 time probowler though, but he isn't a player who makes others around him better. He can be a solid enough system QB (or at least could). But that doesn't exactly excite anyone.

At least thus far they haven't done anything to mess up 2022 & beyond.

I didnt' know how much to judge his final year + in CIncy. That team was real bad - across the board. But like I said - I haven't watched a lot of Dalton over past couple years to go - wow - he really got worse. If so - this is a horrible horrible move, cause at that point he's no different than the others.

HE feels like a guy we need to just give a ton of AB's to this season (and I think they can find him those at-bats) - cause in small sample sizes - it looks like he's made adjustments that might work and if they do - it will be huge.

If Dalton is what you guys say - and massively worse than who he was 2-3 years ago - than you guys are 1000% right.

I legitimately think if Pace had a time-machine and saw how the FA QB market would have played out a year ago - he would NOT have gotten Foles. I think he misjudged what guys like Dalton/Newton were going to get and felt that his only option was trading for Foles because he wasn't going to be able to make Dalton/Newton work. Clearly he was wrong - but I don't know that anyone thought Newton was going to sign a 1YR deal and even with Dalton - I think everyone expected him to make more (and in that case - you have to win the bid).

Foles can not be a bridge starter on a team that is trying to make the playoffs. Not win a superbowl...but make the playoffs. Dalton can absolutely be a bridge starter on a team that contends for a playoff spot. Nick Foles is a career BACKUP. He's good at that and can have a string of games where he plays at a top 10 level, but over a full season, he is a bottom 10 QB who was a significant downgrade from Trubisky (who is a bottom 10 QB). I should caveat - I have not paid any attention to an Andy Dalton game in 3 years - so it might be Andy Dalton's game has taken steps back due to injuries and/or father time and he actually is a back-up at this point and no different than Foles. I'm assuming that isn't the case and it was rather a year ago - no one was that interested in him because the market for a middle of the road QB just wasn't that high (teams were either invested in their young QB and/or more focused on drafting an alternative).

This - And I'm not in that camp. I get it - I wanted a superstar more than anyone, but this isn't anywhere near as high on the list of awful moves that were out there. There were a whole lot of moves I would have hated. I don't think this move makes you go - oh yeah - we are awesome, but Dalton > Foles and this contract does nothing to impact LT viability. I fully expect them to get a 1st round QB and/or remain active and aggressive with Wilson/Watson...but they also couldn't just sit back and do absolutely nothing. Using Foles as a starter and drafting Kyle Trask is what I would have said is the biggest disaster (if I were Pace). In this case - with Dalton they very well could remain a playoff team and just keep buying time to swing bigger at QB (or have a young QB on the way). It is all made worse because the Foles move was so bad - sucks - cause I said it a year ago. I hated it than and I still hate it now. The big piece I always hated was the fact that we were on the hook in year 2 at the price we are talking about cause it locked in the future. With Dalton - we have none of that downside and my guess is we'll see them upgrade the oline (if they don't draft a QB) and look at foundational builds and a bump-up in the defense as one strategy to buying time (Pace/Nagy). All of those items either have no impact on a future admin and/or just put a better foundation for whomever your new franchise QB eventually is.

I'm not of the opinion that Nick Foles and Andy Dalton are comparable. Andy Dalton is a legit top 15-20 NFL starting QB (unless father time has caught him). Nick Foles is an above average back-up and a bottom 5 starting QB. One is not like the other. Dalton is a 9 year NFL starting caliber QB - who had winning records in 5 of those 9 years. Very definition of a middle of the pack starter. Nick Foles has never started more than 11 games. Yes he won a super bowl and got amazingly hot at one time. But in his 9 year career - only twice has he started > 50% of his teams game in any individual season. I don't like Dalton and he doesn't dramatically change the trajectory - but I don't believe he is in the same class at Foles. He isn't and he would have been a Bear a year ago if Pace didn't misjudge last years QB market and panic on Foles.

I won't jump to conclusion(s) - yet. I don't think this stops them from grabbing another guy and not sure how this deal is structured. It just might mean if they get a wilson or someone else that they will need to move Nick Foles as part of that deal and quite frankly - that shouldn't be an issue. It seems like if anything - they wanted to hedge their bets - because - I get it - you can't just assume you'll get Wilson and/or have access to a top flight 1st round pick. Plus - for all of you who rip on Pace - isn't this what a new GM would have probably done anyway - bring in a bridge QB and start to churn the roster and/or make other decisions - so worse case - Pace doesn't make a big swing at a young QB and or one of the all pro's available - and it is kind of one of those - depending on health/defense/schedule this team will win anywhere from 6 to 10 games.

I would say 1 - you can get another in the draft and 1 via FA. I actually think Mooney has a legit chance to be an elite wideout. Not sure it will happen but he has a TON of tools. I'd prefer to keep Arob and presume that is the path the Bears would go - but I don't love that much money tied up at wideout.

There are just way too many teams in need of a QB - so even if one is more a mid 1st round or late 1st round grade, given the importance of the position in the game and the amount of teams who are in need - there is no way one falls to 20 unless they just bomb their proday/interviews/meetings with teams.

Not sure how much Pace had to pay Schefter to write it - but I hope other teams view Miller that way :). He is one of those guys that even if he breaks out - it won't bother me one bit. He was never going to change on the Bears - a change of scenery is his best shot.