The Bears’ Next Long-Term QB Solution Is Probably on a College Campus Somewhere

Last week I posed a question in an attempt to get the pulse of Chicago Bears fandom.

Which one of these is a future Bear?

You might have chuckled at the premise. Or you might have cried inside thinking about it. But in the end, I can’t help but come to the conclusion that the Bears’ QB of the future isn’t on this current roster. Heck, he might not even be in the NFL right now. In fact, there is a very good chance said quarterback is currently enrolled at a college or university right now.

Over at Windy City Gridiron, Jacob Infante predicts which quarterbacks will be considered among the 20 best in 2025. The post is a fun glance into what could be in store for the NFL at its most important position. What’s not fun is that no current Bears quarterbacks make the cut … or even the group of honorable mentions. Sorry, Mitchell Trubisky. You, too, Nick Foles. The Force simply isn’t strong with either of you.

With that out of the way, we can move onto what’s most interesting about this list — which is that there is a nice chunk of quarterbacks who could be drafted by the Bears in the coming years.

There are five quarterbacks who are still in college as of this post’s publishing. Three of them will be draft-eligible in 2021. Let’s discuss them, in brief.

Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

Lawrence is Infante’s No. 2 ranked quarterback in 2025, which says a lot about where the Clemson standout forecasts to be early in his professional career. The only quarterback ahead of him on this list is that Patrick Mahomes fella, who will be just 29 five years from now. Have fun dealing with that, AFC West friends.

As for Lawrence, he is the odds-on favorite to be picked with the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Lawrence has led the Tigers to two national championship game appearances, won one, has 66 passing touchdowns, added 10 more scores as a rusher, has thrown for more than 6,900 passing yards, owns a 5.5-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio, and is a Heisman Trophy favorite. And at 6-6 and 220 pounds, Lawrence is the prototype QB scouts and GMs drool over. Even if there isn’t a down of college football played this season, Lawrence figures to go off the board immediately.

Justin Fields, Ohio State

Fields is the No. 8 QB on Infante’s 2025 NFL big board after an awesome year at Ohio State last year. He put up 41 touchdowns against just three interceptions, completing more than 67 percent of his passes, and throwing for more than 3,200 yards. I don’t have a feel of where Fields will go in the 2021 NFL Draft, but the general consensus is first-round lock and a good chance to be a top-5 pick.

(Photo by Getty Images)

Trey Lance, North Dakota State

I know there is going to be some trepidation when it comes to seeing a redshirt sophomore who plays at the Football Championship Subdivision level (a.k.a. Division I-AA) on this list. But I’ve seen Carson Wentz (and to a lesser extent, Joe Flacco) thrive in those settings, so we can’t rule it out completely. Lance put up video game numbers at NDSU last year, completing 66.9 percent of his passes, throwing for 28 touchdowns without issuing a single interception. He also added 1,110 rushing yards and 14 scores en route to leading the Bison to a national championship. Lance checks in as the No. 10 quarterback in 2025, which means we’re looking at the possibility of THREE of the best 10 quarterbacks five years from now as being part of this upcoming draft class.

That’s kinda neat. So much so, it makes me think the Bears should copycat what the Texans and Chiefs did in offering up a future first-round pick in order to land one of these three signal callers. Let’s be real, no one is talking about what K.C. or Houston gave up to land Mahomes and Watson right now.

Sam Howell, North Carolina

This is one helluva projection to have Howell as QB11 in 2025 when he isn’t even draft eligible until 2022. Put aside that he went to Trubisky’s alma mater for a second. Howell smashed through the ACC as a true freshman, throwing 38 touchdowns against just seven interceptions. Mack Brown has something special brewing in Chapel Hill, and Howell is at the center of it all. By the time the 2022 draft rolls around, Howell has a good shot at being the top-rated QB in that class.

Kedon Slovis, Southern California

If not Howell, then Slovis might be the guy front offices are salivating over when the 2022 NFL Draft opens its doors. As a true freshman in USC, Slovis threw for more than 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns. Slovis comes in as the predicted 15th-ranked NFL quarterback in 2025, which isn’t inconceivable if he continues on this path.


I look at the Bears, as currently constructed, as a team built to play with a quarterback on a rookie contract. Just look at the number of hefty salaries throughout the roster. Then look at them going into the 2021 season (numbers courtesy of OverTheCap.com):

•   Khalil Mack ($26.646M)
•   Kyle Fuller ($20M)
•   Robert Quinn ($14.7M)
•   Eddie Jackson ($11.45M)
•   Akiem Hicks ($12M)
•   Eddie Goldman ($11.7M)
•   Charles Leno Jr. ($11.3M)
•   Jimmy Graham ($10M)

To be clear, the cap can be played with, manipulated, and twisted into a place where things open up and look better for the Bears. But still … That’s eight players with cap numbers north of $10 million. Feels like a lot. And that doesn’t include Cody Whitehair ($9.6M) or Bobby Massie ($9.3M) who miss the cut by a few hundred-thousand dollars. But if you were to throw them into the mix, then we’re talking about $136.696 million worth of cap hits for the 2021 squad — and we haven’t even factored in an Allen Robinson extension.

The way I see it, the Bears declared how they felt about Mitchell Trubisky’s long-term future as QB1 with how they addressed this past offseason by handing out sizable deals to Robert Quinn and Jimmy Graham. Their moves bring into focus the inescapable truth that a competitive Bears roster moving forward will be one with a high functioning quarterback on a rookie-scale deal. Someone who can buy them time and maximize the window made available by the current veterans on this roster.

Down the line, there might come a day to build around one of the quarterbacks listed above with players at other skill positions who will be on rookie contracts. But that’s only if he is deemed worthy of that contract. If not, then this cycle will be repeated until the Bears find a franchise quarterback of their own. Until then, we deal with our current reality in following the great QB derby of 2020 featuring a 2017 first-round pick who has yet to live up to his potential and his veteran counterpart who has quite the résumé when the lights shine the brightest.

written by

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.

more bears news

Chase Young to Sign 1-year Deal with Saints as Another DE Goes Off the Board

If you were looking for the Chicago Bears to reunite Montez Sweat and Chase Young, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Young, a free-agent pass rusher who would've made sense as a Bears offseason target, is reportedly...

The Bears Turned Down a Better Trade Offer to “Do Right” By Justin Fields

Even with the Justin Fields situation resolved by way of Saturday’s trade between the Bears and Steelers, I still found myself coming back to this Ryan Poles quote from Combine Week. The bold emphasis is mine (and you’ll see why...

More D-Line Help: Bears Add Byron Cowart to Defensive Mix

More defensive line help is on the way for the Chicago Bears. On Saturday, the Bears added to their mix of defensive linemen by signing defensive end Jake Martin. And because the job of building out a 90-player offseason roster...

Poles Plan, Sorting Through Fields Mess, What are the Steelers doing? And Other Bears Bullets

The first Monday of the post-Justin Fields era is here and Bears fans are still coming to grips with it. I get it. Lost in the weekend haze was the Bears burying a trade of their former starting quarterback in...

Chicago Bears 7-Round Mock Draft 3.0

In the wake of the Justin Fields trade and week one of free agency, things are starting to take shape, so let’s fire up the PFF Draft Simulator and try to sort out the rest of the 2024 roster with...

Ryan Pace, Darnell Mooney, and Kirk Cousins are Central Figures in NFL Tampering Investigation

In news that has nothing to do with the Chicago Bears trading Justin Fields, a pair of former Bears (and someone the Bears are quite familiar with) find themselves in the middle of an NFL tampering investigation. Ryan Pace, Darnell...

Justin Fields Trade Fallout (And Other Bears Bullets)

Usually, I reserve Sunday's Bears Bullets to be a dumping ground for things I didn't get to in a given week. But today is different (and for obvious reasons). Here is what you missed in case you spent all day...

Here’s What Ryan Poles Had to Say About the Justin Fields Trade

The Justin Fields trade is still oh, so very fresh. Here is what Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles had to say about the trade in a statement issued by the team: We have engaged in multiple trade conversations in...

It’s Over: Justin Fields Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers

So long, old friend. May the Force be with you. The Justin Fields trade is happening. So says NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, who is reporting it and sharing the news on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1769131145688461483 UPDATE (7:45 PM CT): It's officially...

Justin Fields Says Goodbye and Thank You

That Justin Fields trade sure is something. ICYMI: The Bears and Steelers have reportedly agreed on a deal to send Fields from Chicago to Pittsburgh in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick. And while it could become a fourth-rounder based...

Latest News

OH MY: ANTHONY EDWARDS JUST HAD THE BEST DUNK OF THE YEAR

Anthony Edwards has done it again. The emerging Minnesota Timberwolves superstar jammed the most impressive poster dunk of the season against the Utah Jazz on Monday night. Pushing the pace in transition during the third quarter, Edwards passed the ball...

De’Aaron Fox Player Props: Three-Pointer Props and Odds vs. the Grizzlies – Monday, March 18, 2024

To beat his 3-point prop, De'Aaron Fox must make three from beyond the arc on Monday, when his Sacramento Kings face the Memphis Grizzlies, tipping off at 10:00 PM ET.De'Aaron Fox's Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs. the GrizzliesDe'Aaron Fox's over/under for...

Malik Monk Player Props: Three-Pointer Props and Odds vs. the Grizzlies – Monday, March 18, 2024

Will Malik Monk make three 3-pointers when the Sacramento Kings face the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday at 10:00 PM ET? If so, he'll beat his prop for the game.Malik Monk's Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs. the GrizzliesMalik Monk's over/under for three-pointers...

Bogdan Bogdanovic Player Props: Three-Pointer Props and Odds vs. the Lakers – Monday, March 18, 2024

At 10:30 PM ET on Monday, it'll be the Atlanta Hawks against the Los Angeles Lakers, with Bogdan Bogdanovic needing three trifectas to beat his 3-pointer prop.Bogdan Bogdanovic's Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs. the LakersBogdan Bogdanovic's over/under for three-pointers in this...

Anthony Davis Player Props: Three-Pointer Props and Odds vs. the Hawks – Monday, March 18, 2024

The Los Angeles Lakers face the Atlanta Hawks at 10:30 PM ET on Monday, and one of the 3-pointer over/unders available for this clash requires just one make from Anthony Davis.Anthony Davis' Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs. the HawksAnthony Davis' over/under...

Dejounte Murray Player Props: Three-Pointer Props and Odds vs. the Lakers – Monday, March 18, 2024

To beat his 3-point over/under, Dejounte Murray must make four from downtown on Monday, when his Atlanta Hawks face the Los Angeles Lakers, tipping off at 10:30 PM ET.Dejounte Murray's Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs. the LakersDejounte Murray's over/under for three-pointers...

D’Angelo Russell Player Props: Three-Pointer Props and Odds vs. the Hawks – Monday, March 18, 2024

To beat his 3-point over/under, D'Angelo Russell must make three from beyond the arc on Monday, when his Los Angeles Lakers play the Atlanta Hawks, starting at 10:30 PM ET.D'Angelo Russell's Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs. the HawksD'Angelo Russell's over/under for...

LeBron James Player Props: Three-Pointer Props and Odds vs. the Hawks – Monday, March 18, 2024

To beat his 3-point over/under, LeBron James needs to make three from downtown on Monday, when his Los Angeles Lakers face the Atlanta Hawks on Monday at 10:30 PM ET.LeBron James' Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs. the HawksLeBron James' over/under for...

Finally, a Team Wanted the Reigning NL Cy Young Winner

The rumors all wound up being true: Blake Snell would take a two-year deal in the $60 million range, the Giants were probably the favorites now, and the pressure was on to get something done. Per Jon Heyman, it two...

Damian Lillard Pulled Up to Watch the Bulls Play the Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard wants to be traded to the Chicago Bulls confirmed. The Milwaukee Bucks All-Star starter was a surprise guest at the Chicago Bulls' Monday night game. Lillard made the drive down from Milwaukee for an opportunity to sit courtside...

more bears news