Jimmy Garoppolo Reportedly No Longer an Option for Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears top off season option is reportedly off of the table. What will the team do now?

Earlier this off season, we heard that the Chicago Bears were making New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo their “top off season priority.” Garoppolo is a talented signal caller and Tom Brady does not appear to be hanging it up any time soon. Considering Garoppolo reaches free agency after the 2018 season, it has always made sense for the Patriots to shop him to the highest bidder this off season.

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The Bears figured to be major players in these sweepstakes. Well, the dream of Garoppolo as the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears may be dead. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Patriots are not interested in trading Garoppolo.

Bill Belichick is probably just using the media to raise the price of his back-up quarterback. That was my first thought. But now I am not so sure.

Schefter has made the rounds on Wednesday, emphatically stating that the Patriots are not going to move Garoppolo, no matter what the quarterback needy teams around the league offer.

Either Schefter is getting absolutely played by the Patriots here or Belichick wants to keep him around for life after Tom Brady. Keeping Garoppolo in New England would certainly make sense if Brady were on his last legs, but he looks as strong as ever right now.

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Unless Brady is telling the team behind the scenes that he is only going to play for another year or two, I do not understand why the Patriots would keep Garoppolo around. They are basically going to be able to name their price on the trade market and they risk losing him for nothing next off season.

Are the Patriots really going to pay two franchise quarterbacks in 2018 while they wait for Brady to retire? I doubt it, but I guess you never know.

For all intents and purposes, Garoppolo is now off of the trade market. I still wonder if this is just Belichick trying to improve his position. However, Schefter is the best in the business. He certainly deserves to be taken seriously here.

So, with arguably the top quarterback and their number one priority off of the table, what will the Chicago Bears do now? Garoppolo not being available certainly increases the chances that the Bears snag a quarterback with the third overall pick. I am a big Deshaun Watson believer, but would feel lukewarm about either DeShone Kizer or Mitch Trubisky.

Does this mean that Jay Cutler could be back under center for the Bears in 2017? I do not know if I am ready to go that far, but it is certainly more likely that it was before.

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The quarterback position is completely up in the air for the Chicago Bears. Now, their best option appears to be unobtainable. What will Ryan Pace and company do now? One thing is for sure, the pressure is on.