Chicago Bears: Once again the big losers of the NFL offseason

After weeks of rumors surrounding the Chicago Bears and the possibility that they could’ve potentially landed star quarterback Russell Wilson in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks, the Bears front office made another disappointing move that’s left many wondering what could’ve been.

In what was already a weak class for free-agent quarterbacks, Chicago opted to give veteran quarterback Andy Dalton a one-year deal worth $10 million dollars with the possibility of making nearly $13 million dollars as a result of incentives.

The move comes just a year after Chicago traded a fourth-round pick and guaranteed $21 million dollars to Nick Foles, who despite his Super Bowl run with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, has been a journeyman and disappointed in seven starts with the Bears last season.

The Chicago Bears should be considered losers of the NFL offseason.

Signing Dalton does nothing for the Bears at the quarterback position. This is simply a move that general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy made because a move needed to be made at quarterback.

Dalton isn’t the answer in Chicago. If anything, overpaying for Dalton just adds to the frustration that was already building for the Bears. When the defense looks at Dalton, all they should see is an average starter who’s been to the playoffs a few times in his career but never actually done enough to get any team over the top.

In other words, signing Dalton means that the Bears will once again be relying on the defense to win games, especially in a league that is offensive-driven. Dalton doesn’t give much hope for a team that is likely approaching a rebuild as soon as the next offseason commences.

Time is running out for Pace and Nagy to figure out the Bears’ woes. In the NFL, all it takes is one good or bad move to put a team over the top or bring a team down. Chicago overpaid for an average quarterback in Foles the last offseason and it blew up quickly. This offseason, the franchise did the same.

Unless Dalton magically turns it all around and goes on one of the most unprecedented runs in NFL history don’t expect much from the Bears in 2021, especially if Chicago doesn’t draft a rookie quarterback to groom under Dalton.