NEWSLETTER
Yet another report seriously connects the Chicago Bears to free agent quarterback Mike Glennon.
Ian Rapoport reports that when the legal tampering window opens up later today, the Bears are expected to make a “major push” to get a deal done with Glennon. Moreover, Rapoport indicates that Chicago is Glennon’s preferred destination.
If the money is within the range of Glennon’s expectation, then, you’d have to figure a deal could be completed.
Earlier reports suggested Glennon could net as much as $14 to $15 million annually, which would put him in the range of lower tier starters (22 quarterbacks are currently under contract at a higher AAV).
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Is that price tag reasonable?
Well, interestingly, although the Jets have often been mentioned as an adversary for the Bears in the Glennon pursuit, Manish Mehta hears the Jets’ reported interest as been “largely overblown.” Why? It’s not because the Jets don’t like Glennon, but instead, according to Mehta, they don’t see him as worth the rumored $14 million+ annual price tag.
“The Jets,” Mehta writes, “frankly, believe that he’s destined for the Chicago Bears.”
As always, you have to caveat these things out the wazoo at this time of year, as there are so many smokescreens, trial balloons, and miscommunications, as well as so many contingency plans that may or may not be THE plan if Thing X and Thing Y happen first.
Glennon, 27, remains the top quarterback available in free agency, but that is not overwhelming praise in a weak market. Although there are some who believe Glennon has upside he wasn’t able to achieve in Tampa Bay thanks to coaching staff turnover and a quick move to install Jameis Winston as the franchise quarterback, most see Glennon topping out at what he showed in 2013 and 2014: a solid, serviceable quarterback, but little more than that.
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Where the Bears are right now, there is absolutely an argument to be made that having a “solid, serviceable quarterback” in place is a perfectly acceptable thing, particularly as they look to develop a longer-term franchise quarterback (whether acquired in the 2017 draft or the 2018 draft). But what folks have trouble squaring is why Glennon, at such a substantial investment for a bridge quarterback, is a much better option in that role than, for example, Brian Hoyer.
The best explanation I can come up with right now (and this assumes the rumors of the Bears’ strong interest in Glennon, as well as the rumors about his price tag, are all true) is that the Bears’ front office and scouting corps see Glennon as more than merely a serviceable bridge quarterback, and believe there is a chance that he could achieve some more upside with them. (I suppose it’s also possible that, in tandem with that explanation, we’ll see that Glennon’s price tag has been artificially inflated in reports, and he winds up getting less than that to sign with the team Ian Rapoport says he prefers.)
Whatever the case, we’ll learn a lot more this week, not only with whether the Bears aggressively pursue Glennon, but also with whether they surround him with quality pass-catching options. As Luis noted last night, Cameron Meredith is the only Bears receiver under contract right now who received an average or better grade from PFF in 2016.
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