Chicago Bears: Why the Jared Goff extension could be bad news

The Los Angeles Rams recently extended their franchise quarterback and that could be bad news for the Chicago Bears.

A popular storyline over the past couple of years has been a comparison of Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff.

Their career paths have been eerily similar. They each began their career dubiously under the tutelage of a defensive-minded, ball control head coach. They also enjoyed the benefit of a change in head coach in their second years respectively, as each team opted for an offensive-minded head man.

In doing so, each signal-caller turned a disastrous rookie season into something much more respectable. In fairness, with the way each was utilized their rookie campaigns, it would have been almost impossible to see significant improvement in year two.

For Goff, his second season ended with a home playoff loss, in which they were favored against the Atlanta Falcons. In that game, he went 24/45 for 259 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions for a 77.9 quarterback rating. Trubisky also lost a home playoff game as the favorite in his second year to the Philadelphia Eagles. Trubisky went 26/43 for 303 yards, 1 touchdown and o interceptions for an 89.6 QBR.

In Goff’s third year, he led the Rams to a Super Bowl berth before falling short to the New England Patriots. Although he played poorly in that game, the Rams are convinced he is their franchise quarterback and locked him up through 2024 with a 4-year extension worth $134 million ($110 million guaranteed).

The Bears ironically have Super Bowl expectations in Trubisky’s third year just like the Rams did in Goff’s. Regardless of whether they pull it off, they are going to have a difficult decision next year as it relates to the future of Mitchell Trubisky.

If the Bears believe he’s their guy, it would be in their best interest to sign him to an extension next offseason as well. However, this new deal reestablishes the market for Trubisky. You may recall Carson Wentz recently signed a 4-year extension worth $128 million with $107 million guaranteed. Goff’s deal bests the guaranteed money.

With each passing deal, the price to lockup your franchise quarterback becomes increasingly expensive. No doubt, this will be the benchmark Dak Prescott and even Trubisky look to in their upcoming negotiations. Ironically, the same agent who represents Trubisky also represents Wentz and Goff.

Adding an additional layer of complexity, the Bears are also going to have to consider extensions for Eddie Jackson and Tarik Cohen next year as well. I can’t imagine a world where the Bears don’t extend those two, as critical as they are to the team, and as unique a talent as each represents. They’re pretty darn irreplaceable.

So where is all of this money coming from? Candidly, I’m not sure, but luckily, there are people who get paid a lot of money to figure it out — and after yesterday’s deal, they are likely working overtime today.