Mike Glennon's expected offseason departure puts the Chicago Bears in the market for another quarterback to play behind last spring’s second overall pick, Mitchell Trubisky, who enters 2018 as Chicago’s unquestioned starter.
The odds of Glennon sticking around are virtually nil.
The veteran quarterback’s base salary for the upcoming season is $12.5 million. The Bears are already on the hook for Glennon’s fully guaranteed $2.5 million roster bonus, putting the total price tag for Glennon’s (likely) one-year stint in Chicago at $18.5 million. Not only is Glennon making way too much money to back up Trubisky, whose total contract is valued at $29,032,436 guaranteed, but Glennon doesn’t seem to fit the up-tempo style of offense new head coach Matt Nagy is expected to run.
There may be value in retaining Mark Sanchez, who dutifully served as Trubisky’s mentor last year, but Sanchez, 31, is a free agent.
Regardless of what the Bears decide to do with Sanchez, a definite needs exists at quarterback.
Here’s a sample of what might (realistically) be available to the Bears in free agency and the draft.
Free agency
Chase Daniel, New Orleans: Daniel has all sorts of ties to the Bears. The veteran backup was directly coached by Nagy (formerly the Chiefs quarterbacks coach) for three seasons in Kansas City (2013-15). Before that, Daniels overlapped with Bears general manager Ryan Pace in New Orleans (2010-12) -- Daniel later had a second-stint with the Saints in 2017. Daniel has minimal NFL starting experience, but he probably knows Nagy’s offensive tendencies as well as anyone. This type of signing makes sense on multiple levels.
Josh McCown, New York Jets: McCown, 39, is a remarkable story. At one point semi-retired coaching high school football, McCown’s second act in the NFL has included stops in Chicago, Tampa, Cleveland and New York. McCown has made good money in recent years, so it’s unknown whether he’d accept another backup job -- McCown had a 94.5 passer rating (18 touchdowns, nine interceptions) in 13 games for the Jets in 2017. But in terms of having another mentor for Trubisky -- assuming Sanchez leaves -- there is no one better to have in your building than McCown.
Tyler Bray, Kansas City: Another former Nagy-coached quarterback. Bray, 26, has been with the Chiefs since 2013. Bray suffered multiple injuries during his tenure in Kansas City -- and barely played in the regular season -- but the NFL is all about who you know.
Draft
Luke Falk, Washington State: Falk is projected by most analysts to be a Day 2 pick. The Washington State quarterback passed for 3,593 yards and 30 touchdowns last year in Mike Leach’s spread offense. Falk may be of particular interest to the Bears because of the system he played in at college. Remember, the Bears hired former Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich to serve as Nagy’s offensive coordinator.
Kyle Lauletta, Richmond: Lauletta was named Senior Bowl MVP after completing 8 of 12 passes for 198 yards and three touchdowns. The quarterback set a Richmond single-season record with 3,827 total yards of offense in 2017. Lauletta was also invited to the combine, where teams can circle back for a closer look.
Mike White, Western Kentucky: White (6-4, 221), transferred from South Florida to Western Kentucky, where he passed for over 4,000 yards in each of the past two seasons. White had a solid week of practice in front of scouts at the Senior Bowl, according to ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay.