The 2025 NFL Draft is just a few weeks away. The Chicago Bears have had their fair share of misses over the years in selecting long-standing talent at Soldier Field.
A number of picks did not pan out which prompted the team to move on from these names. In some cases, they may have done so too early.
Here, we take a look at four of the former Bears players that Chicago was too quick to give up on.
1. Rex Grossman, QB
In three seasons with the University of Florida Gators, the quarterback threw for more than 9,000 yards and 77 touchdowns. Grossman chose the NFL Draft instead of his senior year at Florida.
The Bloomington, Indiana native was a lucrative pick at the time for the Chicago Bears. He was available with the 22nd overall pick in 2003.
Then-head coach Dick Jauron kept Grossman down in the depth chart behind Chris Chandler and Kordell Stewart. A season later, Lovie Smith took over as the new coach and announced Grossman as the new starter.
Injuries offset Grossman's development early in his career. He sustained a torn ACL in Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings during the 2004 season. Less than a year after, Grossman broke his ankle before the season opener in 2005.
Season | Games | Pass Yards | TD | INT | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | 3 | 437 | 2 | 1 | 74.8 |
2004 | 3 | 607 | 1 | 3 | 67.9 |
2005 | 2 | 259 | 1 | 2 | 59.7 |
2006 | 16 | 3,193 | 23 | 20 | 73.9 |
2007 | 8 | 1,411 | 4 | 7 | 66.4 |
2008 | 4 | 257 | 2 | 2 | 59.7 |
He turned his fortune around by playing in all 16 games for the Bears in 2006. This was the first time a quarterback had done so for the franchise since Erik Kramer in 1995.
Chicago would go on to play in the Super Bowl XLI but lose to the Indianapolis Colts, 29-17. Injuries caused Grossman to sit in 2007 and he was replaced by Kyle Orton.
His final season with the Bears came in 2008 via a one-year 'prove it' deal. Grossman would depart Chicago and continue his playing career with the Houston Texans and the Washington Redskins.
2. Kevin White, WR
The former standout out of the University of West Virginia was viewed as a highly coveted wideout during the 2015 NFL Draft. White was taken by the Chicago Bears with the seventh overall pick.
Just like Grossman, he also sustained a number of injuries during his first seasons with the team. The Bears did not pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract.
Season | Games | Receptions | Yards | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | 4 | 19 | 187 | 0 |
2017 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
2018 | 9 | 4 | 92 | 0 |
Perhaps one of White's greatest plays with Chicago was his 54-yard catch on October 21, 2018. The visiting New England Patriots were able to stop the receiver close to the goal line preventing the game-winning score.
White bounced around between the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, and the New Orleans Saints. Historically, the Bears have not been known for wide receivers going off statistically over the years. Perhaps, White could have changed that with a little more patience and durability,
3. Jon Bostic, LB
Another Florida Gator talent was coveted and enticed the Bears' front office to take this linebacker in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Bostic was the 50th overall pick that year, as six linebackers were taken before him. He started the 2013 season backing up D.J. Williams. The same happened going into the 2014 season.
Season | Games | Tackles | Sacks | Forced Fumbles | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | 16 | 57 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
2014 | 13 | 83 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Midway through the 2015 season, Bostic was traded to the Patriots for a sixth-round pick the following year. He became a journeyman during the rest of his career as he played for the Detroit Lions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and two stints in Washington before calling it a career.
4. Mitch Trubisky, QB
Currently on his second stint with the Buffalo Bills, many have argued that the Chicago Bears gave up on this college prospect too early.
His final year at the University of North Carolina was his best. In 2016, he threw for more than 3,700 yards and 30 touchdowns while throwing just six interceptions. Trubisky earned Third-Team All-ACC honors that season.
That was one of the many accolades from the quarterback that promtped the Bears to trade up in the draft. Trubisky's name was the second one called in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Season | Games | Pass % | Pass Yards | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 12 | 59.4 | 2,193 | 7 | 7 |
2018 | 14 | 66.6 | 3,223 | 24 | 12 |
2019 | 15 | 63.0 | 3,138 | 17 | 10 |
2020 | 9 | 67.0 | 2,055 | 16 | 8 |
With just one win in the team's first four games in 2017, Trubisky became the starter in Week 5. His debut was in a nail-biter on Monday Night Football against the Vikings. The new starting hurler recorded 128 passing yards including a 20-yard touchdown to Zach Miller.
Despite Chicago making the playoffs in two of the four seasons with Trubisky as the starter, the Bears elected to move on from him following the 2020 NFL season.
As the former University of North Carolina Tar Heel is not the only quarterback on the list, he certainly isn't the last. Players like Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson weren't taken by Chicago ahead of Trubisky.
While the coaching staff at the time was more intrigued to let one of the quarterback prospects take over in the 2021 NFL Draft, Trubisky was shown the door and not offered a return despite his many successes.
5. Justin Fields, QB
The former Georgia Bulldog and Ohio State Buckeye blazed the college football scene. In his only season playing for the Bulldogs, Fields threw for as many touchdowns as he rushed (four).
At Ohio State, he threw for 63 and rushed for 15 in the two seasons as a Buckeye. In 2019, he racked up 41 scores by air and had 10 more himself on the ground. Fields solidified himself as a dual threat.
Instead of trading up again in the NFL draft for their next franchise quarterback, the Chicago Bears remained patient and stood pat on where their first-round pick fell, #11.
As the team decided to move on from Trubisky, Chicago announced Justin Fields as their newest member of the Bears that particular draft night.
Season | Games | Pass % | Pass YDS | Pass TD | INT | Rush YDS | Rush TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 12 | 58.9 | 1,870 | 7 | 10 | 420 | 2 |
2022 | 15 | 60.4 | 2,242 | 17 | 11 | 1,143 | 8 |
2023 | 13 | 61.4 | 2,562 | 16 | 9 | 657 | 4 |
Even though Fields' numbers in terms of passing percentage and yards improved each year he played in Chicago, he fumbled the ball 16 times (worst in the league) and was also sacked a league-high 58 times.
A little more than a year ago, the Bears swapped Fields for a conditional fourth-round pick that belonged to the Steelers. It became the second time in a four-year period that Pittsburgh inherited a former Chicago quarterback.
The Bears made this move knowing that they had the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The luster and allure of taking Caleb Williams from the University of North Carolina could not be overlooked by GM Ryan Poles.
While the verdict is still out on whether this was the right move, Fields is now with the New York Jets and Williams is about to play in his second season for Chicago. Time will tell, but history does tend to repeat itself.