Bill O’Brien has pretty much sewn up the title as the league’s worst GM. Tough to outdo giving away one of the game’s very best receivers for a second-round pick and a bad running back contract. But Ryan Pace is making a little noise himself in the Windy City.
Pace has come up with some clunkers of his own in recent years, highlighted by trading up to select Mitchell Trubisky with the 2nd pick of the 2017 draft. And he’s opened with 2020 offseason with a couple more headscratchers.
Jimmy Graham hasn’t been a good tight end the last two years and turns 34 during the season. The Packers released him. The Bears signed him to a two-year contract worth $16 million, with $9 million guaranteed. The rest of the NFC North had to like that signing.
And as was the case with Arizona and David Johnson, the Jaguars were regretting giving Nick Foles a four-year contract worth $88 million. They were hoping that might find a team willing to take Foles off their hands. Pace was willing to do so, while also throwing in a fourth-round pick. Good day for Jacksonville.
Also a good day for Trubisky. More reasonable teams would be pulling the plug on him, bringing in a new starter – Cam Newton, perhaps. Instead, the Bears are bringing in a modest veteran, giving Trubisky one last chance to salvage his career.
Foles most likely will go the Ryan Tannehill route, beginning the season as a backup. In early October, with the losses and stalled drives piling up, that’s when they’ll turn to Foles, hoping for a spark.
That’s unlikely to happen. Bears looking like they’ll be battling the Lions for last in the NFC North.
Among quarterbacks who started at least four games last year, only two averaged fewer than 10 yards per completion. The Bears now have both of them.
| YARDS PER COMPLETION, 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pct | Yards | Avg |
| Ryan Tannehill, Ten. | 70.3% | 2,742 | 13.64 |
| Jameis Winston, T.B. | 60.7% | 5,109 | 13.44 |
| Matthew Stafford, Det. | 64.3% | 2,499 | 13.36 |
| Marcus Mariota, Ten. | 59.4% | 1,203 | 12.66 |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 65.9% | 4,031 | 12.64 |
| Dak Prescott, Dall. | 65.1% | 4,902 | 12.63 |
| Jimmy Garoppolo, S.F. | 69.1% | 3,978 | 12.09 |
| Baker Mayfield, Cle. | 59.4% | 3,827 | 12.07 |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 66.1% | 4,110 | 12.05 |
| Philip Rivers, LAC | 66.0% | 4,615 | 11.83 |
| Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 66.1% | 3,127 | 11.80 |
| Jared Goff, LAR | 62.9% | 4,638 | 11.77 |
| Kirk Cousins, Min. | 69.1% | 3,603 | 11.74 |
| Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 67.3% | 3,852 | 11.57 |
| Gardner Minshew, Jac. | 60.6% | 3,271 | 11.48 |
| Dwayne Haskins, Was. | 58.6% | 1,365 | 11.47 |
| Eli Manning, NYG | 61.9% | 1,042 | 11.45 |
| Josh Allen, Buff. | 58.8% | 3,089 | 11.40 |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mia. | 62.0% | 3,529 | 11.35 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 62.0% | 4,002 | 11.34 |
| Derek Carr, Oak. | 70.4% | 4,054 | 11.23 |
| Andy Dalton, Cin. | 59.5% | 3,494 | 11.13 |
| Sam Darnold, NYJ | 61.9% | 3,024 | 11.08 |
| Kyle Allen, Car. | 62.0% | 3,322 | 10.96 |
| Matt Ryan, Atl. | 66.2% | 4,466 | 10.95 |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 60.8% | 4,057 | 10.88 |
| Jacoby Brissett, Ind. | 60.9% | 2,942 | 10.82 |
| Case Keenum, Was. | 64.8% | 1,707 | 10.67 |
| Kyler Murray, Ariz. | 64.4% | 3,722 | 10.66 |
| Daniel Jones, NYG | 61.9% | 3,027 | 10.66 |
| Joe Flacco, Den. | 65.3% | 1,822 | 10.65 |
| Devlin Hodges, Pitt. | 62.5% | 1,063 | 10.63 |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 74.3% | 2,979 | 10.60 |
| David Blough, Det. | 54.0% | 984 | 10.47 |
| Carson Wentz, Phil. | 63.9% | 4,039 | 10.41 |
| Teddy Bridgewater, N.O. | 67.9% | 1,384 | 10.41 |
| Drew Lock, Den. | 64.1% | 1,020 | 10.20 |
| Mason Rudolph, Pitt. | 62.2% | 1,765 | 10.03 |
| Mitchell Trubisky, Chi. | 63.2% | 3,138 | 9.63 |
| Nick Foles, Jac. | 65.8% | 736 | 9.56 |
This, by the way, is not a case of me playing with a small sample set to make a point. Other than one freaky playoff run, Foles hasn’t been a good quarterback. He’s averaged 216 passing yards in his last 12 starts, with 15 TDs, 8 interceptions and 11 fumbles (5 lost). Over the last three years, he’s averaged only 6.5 yards per attempt. Over the last three years, he’s averaged 9.8 yards per completions, worst in the league among quarterback with at least 400 attempts. He hasn’t completed downfield passes. He’s a guy who should be a backup rather than a starter.
—Ian Allan