Is Peterman the Best Bears Fit, Cutler’s Durability, and Other Bullets

Happy Valentine’s Day to the lovers among you. Will the Bears find their next long-term special somebody under center this offseason? Will chocolates and a giant, stuffed teddybear be enough to do the trick?

  • Instead of making a big trade for a certain New England back-up, perhaps taking a flier on a developmental quarterback prospect might be more to the Bears’ liking. According to Chad Reuter of NFL.com, Pitt’s Nathan Peterman is a fit to be picked by the Bears. Reuter writes Peterman’s familiarity with a pro style offense could be valuable to a team like the Bears that needs an upgrade at the position, but doesn’t necessarily have the time to get a rookie up-to-speed with the nuances of running a pro style offense. He describes Peterman’s arm as “strong enough to move an NFL offense” and that his ability to take care of the ball would be an improvement from what the Bears did in 2016.
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  • For what it’s worth, Peterman – who impressed at the Senior Bowl – currently ranks as the 5th best quarterback prospect in the draft at ESPN (91st overall), behind the top three and Miami’s Brad Kaaya, and just ahead of Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes II. At CBS, Mahomes and Peterman are flipped, and Peterman projects to go in the 4th round.
  • Of course, the risk here is the Bears pass on a more talented quarterback in favor of one with a grasp of pro style offenses, but who doesn’t have the talent or skill to be a short or long-term fit. That would hurt the Bears on two fronts and is the kind of scenario that would set the franchise even further back than it already is at the quarterback position. In any case, the Bears will be taking on some kind of risk no matter what direction they go at quarterback.
  • Just don’t expect that signal caller to be of the big-ticket free agent variety. Pro Football Focus released its top-25 NFL free agents of 2017 and only one quarterback (Kirk Cousins, Washington) made the list. This isn’t to say there aren’t positions of depth for the Bears to browse through, but it simply isn’t there at the quarterback position.
  • Staying at PFF, where Bears running back Jordan Howard is one of seven rookies to crack the site’s 101 best players list. The seven rookies is the most since the class of 2012, which also featured seven rookies including quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III.
  • Jay Cutler isn’t going to make any PFF “best of” lists any time soon. Even if his play merited it, recent history suggests he wouldn’t play enough games to qualify. While Tony Romo’s health has gone (and will continue to be) under the microscope leading up until the time he departs the Cowboys, Cutler’s durability has left much to be desired, too. While chatting with Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk, CSN Chicago’s John Mullin notes that Cutler has been unavailable for more regular season games (25) than Romo (23) since 2011. Both players will face questions about their durability this offseason if they hit the open market, as expected.
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  • Cameron Meredith, a former college quarterback at Illinois State, put together a quality second-season as the Bears’ leading receiver. Check out the throwback video he shared via Twitter of a sweet one-handed catch he made while still on campus.
  • In case you missed it, Victor Cruz – whose once promising NFL career was derailed by injuries – was cut by the Giants on Monday. He’s not necessarily a fit for the Bears and likely won’t shake up the receiver market, but could always re-invent himself as a slot receiver in the right situation. Teammate Rashad Jennings was also released by the Giants, opening up their running back spot to rookie Paul Perkins.
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    Brett Taylor contributed to this post.

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    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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