Baking cookies at night to have for breakfast in the morning was a brilliant idea!
• Contrary to popular belief, the decision on Mitch Trubisky’s fifth-year option isn’t an easy one for the Bears. And I’m glad Michael provided some perspective to the situation yesterday. That said, would the decision be easy for me to make? Yes. How about for the vocal majority of Bears fans who’ve interacted with that post in the past 24 hours? Clearly. But just because it’s an easy decision on the surface doesn’t mean that it will be for the guys actually making the call. There are legitimate issues to address and they don’t all point in the same direction (tags, future draft picks, unrelated extension negotiations, injury concerns, etc.)
• Indeed, I have no doubt this is going to be a tough decision for GM Ryan Pace, who hitched his wagon to Trubisky’s ascent when he moved up to draft the UNC product in 2017. Pace then built a roster around a rookie-scale quarterback contract, giving him a strong defense to lean on and solid offensive weapons to aid his development. To not pick up the option on Trubisky’s deal would be an admission of whiffing on that top pick, and making it three top-10 selections who don’t make it five years into their Bears career. That is going to be painful for Pace to deal with when that time comes. Frankly, his best course of action is to rip the band-aid off and deal with the consequences when they come.
• In his roundup of the fifth-year options around the league, ESPN’s Dan Graziano writes the fifth-year option on Trubisky’s deal being picked up is “probably not happening.” Trubisky won’t be alone, Graziano predicts. The ESPN NFL insider doesn’t see the option getting picked up for DE Solomon Thomas (3rd overall, 49ers), RB Leonard Fournette (4th, Jaguars), WR Corey Davis (5th, Titans), WR John Ross (9th, Bengals), LB Haason Reddick (13th, Cardinals), OLL Garrett Bolles (20th, Broncos), LB Jarrad Davis (21st, Lions), DE Charles Harris (22nd, Dolphins), CB Gareon Conley (24th, Raiders), DE Takkarist McKinley (26th, Falcons), DE Taco Charlton (28th, Cowboys), and LB Reuben Foster (31st, 49ers).
• And to think, Conley (now with the Texans), Charlton (now with the Dolphins), and Foster (now with Washington) aren’t even with the teams that drafted him in the first place.
• Wowzers! The 49ers absolutely WHIFFED on BOTH of their first-round picks in 2017. Just wanted to point that out while I had a minute.
• One thing I’d like to clear up is the idea that 2019 did Trubisky in – as if that were the top and only reason why his fifth-year option isn’t likely being picked up. Because more than anything, it was the total inconsistency over the first three years of Trubisky’s career that made this a discussion. When a player is having the same issues in Year 3 he had in Year 1, that’s the problem. With that being said, I am sooooo fascinated by the quarterback competition on the horizon. We haven’t had a real one of those in Chicago in quite some time. May the best man win. And may Bears fans get behind whomever is under center when Week 1 rolls around.
• Meanwhile, I’lll keep one eye open to the future of the position:
One of the names you've seen a lot in these too-early 2021 NFL Mock Drafts is North Dakota State QB Trey Lance. Never heard of him? Learn all about the #BisonPride phenom who had a 28-0 TD-INT ratio AND ran for 1110 yards last season: https://t.co/4TMFzfEL02
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) April 28, 2020
• We know about Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) and Justin Fields (Ohio State) as top prospects in the next quarterback class. And I have a feeling the country will get familiar with Jamie Newman (Georgia) once (if?) the college football season gets rolling. But Trey Lance (North Dakota State) might be the most intriguing prospect of them all. Lance threw for 28 touchdowns last season, didn’t throw an interception, and added 1,000+ yards in rushing. A dual threat signal caller who makes good decisions, throws accurately, and can move around in and out of the pocket? Yeah, I hear your concerns about the level of competition at the FCS level. But it didn’t stop Carson Wentz from being great. Nor did it keep Joe Flacco from being a legitimate starting quarterback. I’ll be looking forward to seeing how his year unfolds.
• Bonus points if my beloved Salukis can take down Lance’s NDSU Bison in 2020.
• If you’ve used Amazon to stream Thursday Night Football in recent years, then here’s some good news:
Amazon renews Thursday Night Football streaming deal for three seasons, will get one exclusive Saturday telecast https://t.co/CC9xDh5RqM pic.twitter.com/pUZSfwJLPx
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 29, 2020
• In addition to retaining the streaming rights for TNF, Amazon picks up an exclusive, late-season Saturday game to its football slate. It will have to sell rights to over-the-air stations for the local broadcasts for the markets playing in the game, but this could be well worth it to continue being the streaming provider for TNF.
• Are we looking at a Teddy Bridgewater 2.0 situation here?
Jameis Winston’s one-year contract with the Saints carries a base value of $1.1M, per source. He got a $148,000 signing bonus, a base salary of $952,000 and $3.4M is available in incentives. Jameis prioritized the chance to learn and grow as a player.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 29, 2020
• LOL:
Either a sign that Clowney is definitely not headed back to the #Seahawks or a shrewd financial move by Reed. https://t.co/GCEnKxvZvk
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 29, 2020
• I’d be “blindsided” if the Bulls *DIDN’T* replace Jim Boylen:
Apparently, Jim Boylen Would be “Blindsided” if the Bulls Replaced Himhttps://t.co/3IPkUxGYsZ
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) April 28, 2020