The Bears Are Again Linked to Free Agent QB Jameis Winston (But I’m Still Not Buying the Fit)

The Bears are so obviously desperate to fix their quarterback problem, they’re connected to seemingly every possible option on the market.

Even ones we’ve seen before.

Certainly, Winston is a high-profile name that could count as the sort of “big swing” Bears GM Ryan Pace has discussed taking this offseason – winning a Heisman trophy before becoming the first overall pick in the draft will do that to a guy.

And yet, all my previous concerns about Winston from last offseason, when he was a suggested target for the Bears to pursue in free agency, persist:

⇒   “Jameis has been arguably the most volatile quarterback PFF has ever seen …”

⇒   “Since Winston came into the league in 2015, he ranks first in positively graded play rate and posted the second worst negatively graded play rate at the same time.”

⇒   “Winston’s decision making absolutely needs some work.”

Winston, now 27, is still one of the most talented and gifted quarterbacks in the league. But he also remains an enigma – the incessant turnovers and inconsistency make him a highly questionable fit for the Bears, at best. Moreover, he appeared in just four games, throwing just 11 passes, in the regular season. So it’s not as if there is any new tape that suggests Winston isn’t any of the things listed above.

He did throw a touchdown in the Saints’ second-round playoff game against the Buccaneers. And you might recall that play because Sean Payton ripped it straight from Matt Nagy’s playbook.

Sure, from a football perspective, Winston’s talent and pedigree suggest his best football is ahead of him. It’d probably have to be. And yet, when Drew Brees went down with an injury, Head Coach Sean Payton didn’t turn to Winston. He re-wrote his offensive game plan in order to make “Fetch” happen with Taysom Hill. That, alone, is a red flag I can’t ignore.

By name alone, Winston would constitute a swing for the fences for this front office. So you’ve got me there. But pairing a quarterback with significant turnover problems to a defense that has shown how impossible it is to cover up all of a quarterback’s shortcomings would be an awful risk – one I’m not sure the Bears should be willing to take.

(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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.

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