Bears Urged to Sign Pro Bowl QB as Caleb Williams Insurance
The Chicago Bears could be contending for the playoffs during the 2024 season if rookie quarterback Caleb Williams adjusts quickly to the NFL and delivers on the star power that made him this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick. Should they have a veteran backup plan in place, though, if something keeps Williams off the field?
One ESPN analyst believes they should.
ESPN writer Aaron Schatz recently connected the dots between the Bears and veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who has become a popular free agent suggestion for Chicago in the months since Williams’ selection. Tannehill will be 36 before the start of the 2024 season, but he has started 151 games over the past 11 seasons and would offer a more competitive backup option than any of the three quarterbacks behind Williams.
Tannehill, if willing, could also offer vital mentorship to Williams in his first season with Schatz even describing his potential role as “a veteran part-time coach.”
“The Bears believe they put a real playoff-contending team around rookie quarterback Caleb Williams,” Schatz wrote on June 23. “What on earth are they going to do if Williams gets hurt? Tyson Bagent and Brett Rypien are not bringing this team to the playoffs. The Bears should sign the best free agent quarterback left on the market and let him earn a check as Williams’ backup and as a veteran part-time coach.”
Ryan Tannehill Remains Best Veteran QB Possibility
If the Bears want to add a veteran quarterback to their roster to be their new No. 2, Tannehill makes more sense than the rest of the options on the market. Part of that is a credit to Tannehill himself, who played good stretches for the Tennessee Titans over the past five seasons with Pro Bowl and Comeback Player of the Year recognition in 2019.
Tannehill showed signs of decline for the Titans in 2023, throwing four touchdowns and seven interceptions in his 10 games and suffering an early-season high ankle sprain that made things more difficult for him. The Titans even benched Tannehill for rookie Will Levis, but he played the final three games after Levis suffered an injury.
The other reason why Tannehill makes sense for the Bears, of course, is that the current quarterback market is bone dry. Teddy Bridgewater could have been an option, but he has retired and is now a high school football coach in Miami. Trevor Siemian and Jacob Eason are also options, but Siemian has already had one (forgettable) stint in Chicago while Eason has even less experience than Bagent collected as a rookie in 2023.
