Chicago Bears: Top 10 draft busts of the 21st century

1. Quarterback Rex Grossman, Florida

Notice the patch on Rex Grossman’s jersey in the above photo? Yes, that would be the Super Bowl XLI patch. The Bears took on the Colts in the Super Bowl following what was an incredibly up-and-down season for the quarterback, but thankfully, Grossman had one of the best defenses in NFL history backing him up.

The Bears took Grossman in the first round of the 2003 draft after a phenomenal career as a Florida Gator. I won’t talk about the good days at Florida, because the bad days in Chicago are just that much more interesting.

Grossman is the player who scarred me for life as a Bears fan. Now, no matter what, every time I see a Bears quarterback drop back to pass, I gasp for air when I see the ball released. It doesn’t matter who is under center, I hold my breath every time a Bears quarterback throws the ball.

Why?

Well, for starters, the guy was reckless with the football. Those who think Jay Cutler was reckless might wanna go back and watch some Grossman tape. Grossman threw 20 interceptions in 2006 and somehow his team made it to the Super Bowl.

I will never forget, to this day, the most incredible football game I have ever witnessed the Bears defense play.

“The Bears are who we thought they were!”

The famous words were uttered by former Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green after the Bears went on to win a primetime game without scoring an offensive touchdown. Grossman finished that game 14-for-37 passing for 144 yards. He threw four picks that night.

The Bears, by some miracle from Heaven, won the game on the heels of two defensive scores and a ridiculous punt return for a touchdown by the future Hall of Fame specialist, Devin Hester.

To this day, I still say that if the Bears had just about any other starting quarterback from the NFL that year, they would have won that Super Bowl. Grossman threw two nasty picks that game and finished with an atrocious 68.3 rating.