The National Football League kicked off their free agency period last week. This offered sports fans a much needed escape from the craziness of the world.
Speaking of sports fans, the Chicago Bears fans expected some new faces for the team. The Bears had finished last season with an 8-8 record, missing out on the playoffs in the process.
Due to this subpar record, the Bears were faced with several questions going into free agency. Their biggest one being at the quarterback position. Chicago’s starting quarterback for the past two years, Mitchell Trubisky, had a terrible 2019 season and there were several calls to replace him throughout the year.
While the Bears front office repeatedly said that Trubisky was going to remain the starting quarterback, the Bears did bring in some competition for Trubisky. Chicago traded a fourth round draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars for their backup quarterback, Nick Foles.
Foles has been in the NFL for eight years, being first drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012. Foles had his breakout season in 2013, when he threw 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions the entire season. However, Foles began a downward spiral after that year, mostly thanks to injuries.
After nearly retiring, Foles would be called back into action in 2017, once again for the Philadelphia Eagles after their new starting quarterback (Carson Wentz) was injured. Foles led the Eagles on a miraculous playoff run that culminated in them winning the Super Bowl for the first time ever.
One year later, after another Wentz injury, Foles was thrust back into the spotlight for another Eagles playoff run. That year’s playoff run started against the Bears, a game in which the Eagles won thanks to a field goal that doinked off the crossbar twice. Foles then signed with Jacksonville last year, where he had a pretty disappointing year, only playing in four games with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Now Foles looks for another career rebirth, this time in the Windy City. His first order of business is to unseat Trubisky, which is easier said than done.
Chicago’s other big free agent signing was defensive end Robert Quinn. The Bears were already stacked on the defensive side of the ball and Quinn is only going to make them better. Quinn had 11.5 sacks last year and has 80 sacks in his 9-year career. Quinn looks like he will be another scary defensive end for the Bears, joining Khalil Mack in forming what could potentially be the most dangerous pass rush attack in the NFL.
Chicago also signed tight end Jimmy Graham, who has been in the NFL for almost a decade. Graham has not been great the past few years, but if he can come anywhere close to reverting back to his prime years, the Bears would have a great weapon on their hands.
Chicago has made some solid moves so far this offseason and with the NFL Draft still a month away, they still have more time to make even bigger moves.