With Tom Brady now an unrestricted free agent with no ability to have the franchise tag placed on him by the New England Patriots, many fan bases around the National Football League have been clamoring for their teams to take a run at him.
Brady is undoubtedly the greatest QB of all time, but at the age of 42, does it really make sense to pay him the astronomical dollars it would probably take to convince him to leave the only team he has ever known and to start anew in the twilight of his career?
And, if it does make sense for a team, should that team be the Chicago Bears, who have serious questions surrounding their quarterback?
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I have been openly lusting after Brady to be the Bears' QB since September, when ESPN’s Adam Schefter first floated the possibility of him leaving New England after the 2019 season. But, wanting him to play for my favorite team because I am a fan of that team is completely different from my favorite team making a business decision that could have long-term effects on the franchise.
Putting my fandom aside, and putting aside the thought of Tom Brady wearing a No. 12 Chicago Bears jersey, we have to look at the possible ramifications of what such a move could do to the Bears.
First of all, with limited salary cap space the Bears would have to gut their roster of some very important players to clear enough room to pay Brady what it would take to get him to leave New England and choose the Bears.
The 2019 version of the Bears had a subpar offensive line, virtually no productive tight end play and a struggling running game. So, before the Bears could even entertain the notion of Tom Brady quarterbacking their team, they would have to fix the myriad of problems that short-circuited the season.
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With limited cap space and limited draft capital after using their 2020 first round pick in the Khalil Mack trade, the Bears' ability to upgrade to playoff contender is going to be very tough. Not impossible but a tough hill to climb. And that is before they could even attempt to woo Brady, who would command a salary north of $30 million a season no matter where he plays.
One other factor that must be considered is the Bears' RPO (run pass option) offensive system is absolutely not suited for Brady’s skill set. Head coach Matt Nagy would have to completely overhaul his offensive system to fit Brady, and GM Ryan Pace would have to upgrade several areas on the offensive side of the ball to fit Brady.
So let’s spell it out: a challenging salary cap situation, a team that needs to win now and an offensive system that is opposite what Brady has run his entire career. It is literally impossible to tailor the Bears' situation to make it attractive to him.
In short, it ain’t happening Bears fans. Mitchell Trubisky is actually a better option -- along with another QB who can compete with him in training camp and has the ability to beat him out.
As cool as it would be to see Tom Brady in a Bears jersey, stop dreaming Bears fans. It has no chance of happening. And it shouldn’t.