The Chicago Bears have an uncertain future at quarterback, even with Nick Foles still on their roster and under contract for 2021. Foles appeared to be an afterthought in Chicago after being benched in favor of Mitchell Trubisky late last season, but the Bears apparently aren't ready to move on from the former Super Bowl MVP just yet.
Bears general manager Ryan Pace give an interesting vote of confidence in Foles at his end-of-season news conference, which seemed to signify that Chicago will give Foles at least an opportunity to win the starting job again.
"I respect the way he handled a lot of adversity this year, not just for himself in the quarterback room," Pace said, via Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times. "He was a leader in the room as a starter or as a backup. And ... when he was playing, there were some things that, in fairness to him, the offensive line was a little unsettled and the run game wasn't quite where we wanted it to be."
As for Trubisky, he'll be a free agent on March 17, and signs point to him not returning to Chicago. The Bears had more problems on offense than just the play of their quarterbacks, however. Foles certainly didn't benefit from a Bears offensive line that allowed 18 sacks in his seven starts, a huge factor in the quarterback throwing just seven touchdowns and seven interceptions in those starts. The Bears' running game wasn't very good either, averaging just 52.6 rushing yards per game in those starts -- dead last in the league. The 2.79 yards per carry average was also last in the league and the two rushing touchdowns tied for last.
Foles completed 65.96% of his passes for 1,664 yards with seven touchdowns to seven interceptions and recorded a 79.6 passer rating in those seven starts, despite no running game and offensive line to aid him. The end result was Foles averaging 40.3 attempts per game, not a recipe for success (the Bears went 2-5 in his starts).
With Foles due $6.667 million and the Bears having to eat $10.33 million if they cut him, there is no reason why Chicago won't bring Foles back for the 2021 season at this point. Perhaps the Bears will find a trade partner to take on the final two years of Foles' contract, but he'll have an opportunity to reclaim the starting job in 2021 -- with an improved offensive line and resurgent David Montgomery by his side.
