Chicago Bears: Matt Barkley’s Opportunity of a Lifetime is Over in a Blink

Matt Barkley just threw away his opportunity of a lifetime with the Chicago Bears.  Yet no one should feel sorry for him.

After season-ending injuries to Chicago Bears quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer came into fruition, it was Matt Barkley‘s turn to lead the Bears offense. Barkley, a fourth round draft pick by the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2013, had become an afterthought throughout the league prior to signing with the Bears in 2016.

He struggled mightily during his brief playing time with the Eagles, which only came in 2013 as a result of injuries to their first two at the position. After a mere two seasons with the Eagles, Barkley was cut by the team before the start of the 2015 season.

He was then picked up by the Arizona Cardinals, but never saw the field, being the third string QB. The Cardinals ended up releasing him early in the 2016 season, but he was picked up by the Chicago Bears a day later.

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Only meant to be signed as a practice squad player for the Bears, Barkley didn’t foresee this opportunity of a lifetime coming. Sure enough, it came, and Barkley started well as the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears.

He showed both poise in the pocket and accuracy down the field, despite not having the strongest arm. Watching Barkley keep the Bears offense competitive in games when he had very few offensive weapons around him was a sight to behold.

At a time, Barkley’s play on the field was so impressive that there was talk of him becoming the Bears’ quarterback of the future. What he was doing with such limited options was incredibly impressive.

He was playing without star wide-receiver Alshon Jeffery for half of his starts, and other than emerging receiver Cameron Meredith and rookie-sensation running back Jordan Howard, Barkley had few reliable options to lean on. However, then came the reoccurring interceptions.

Barkley had thrown seven interceptions leading up to his final two starts of the season. In some ways, he was given a pass due to his limited experience as a starter. It was all about him going through the growing pains as a young starter; learning from his previous mistakes.

Unfortunately, opposing defenses adjusted to Matt Barkley’s tendencies, and in return, Barkley refused to adapt. He felt confident enough to make every throw imaginable, trying to stretch the field as much as possible. While it’s great to see your quarterback have confidence that he can make all the throws, the same cannot be said when throwing the ball deep into triple coverage.

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Shockingly enough, the Bears’ offensive line did an efficient job in protecting Barkley while giving him additional time to throw and survey the field.  Still, Barkley over-threw and forced the ball into bad situations far too often.

The tipping point for Barkley was his benching in the 4th quarter of Sunday’s 38-10 loss to the Vikings.  He had thrown two more gut-wrenching interceptions that killed promising drives for the Bears. After seven interceptions thrown in two games, John Fox had finally seen enough.

He pulled the plug on Barkley’s season. In doing so, Fox also likely ended Barkley’s opportunity of a lifetime.

Whether or not the Bears decide to keep Barkley around for another season remains to be seen. His play, once promising, then turned sour, only reinforced the notion that Barkley is nothing more than at the very best; a serviceable backup.

There’s no one for Matt Barkley to blame other than himself.  He squandered his opportunity; not the Bears. Worse, he made Jay Cutler look good during the process. Now, that is a feat itself.

Everyone says the backup quarterback becomes the most popular man in town when the starter gets hurt or is struggling. For a while, Barkley was both. Now, he’s just a backup who has probably over-stayed his welcome in Chicago. A player who another team will likely give a chance this off season.

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It’s potentially a sad ending for Barkley given that he had an opportunity of a lifetime. That being said, there are many other backup quarterbacks who will never receive the same opportunity that he had, let alone hit the field.

The only lesson that Barkley can take with him as he moves on in life is simply to take full advantage of an opportunity when given to you.  You never know for sure when it might happen, but as soon as it does, it may be over in a blink of an eye.  At least he got his opportunity.  And that in itself, is enough to keep his head held high.