The Chicago Bears need quarterback depth. Despite his lengthy contract, the team simply cannot rely on Jay Cutler being their only option to lead the offense. The quarterback has not seen his best playing days recently and most former Chicago coaches believe the Bears will not win a championship with Cutler under center. As the team continues to toy with trades regarding Brandon Marshall and Matt Forte, they must begin to eye quarterbacks on the free agent market.
The Bears were being linked to former backup Josh McCown who hit the free agent market after being released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. McCown seemed like the obvious fit considering his successful history in Chicago. He met with team officials at the scouting combine, but the Cleveland Browns beat them out for a deal.
According to John Mullin of CSN Chicago, the Bears are now showing interest in Mark Sanchez who will be a free agent in just over a week. The quarterback started part of the season for the Philadelphia Eagles after Nick Foles went down with an injury. He did his best to redeem himself after two years of failure with the New York Jets. Sanchez finished with 2,418 passing yards and 14 touchdowns along with 11 interceptions in nine games. He would be solid insurance for Cutler under new head coach John Fox.
The Bears could also look to Brian Hoyer as an option. The veteran quarterback is not expected to return to the Browns following the contract for McCown. Hoyer has made it clear that he wants to be a starting quarterback in the league and likely would not be thrilled to take a backup job behind Cutler. However, that could easily turn into a starting job if Cutler plays like he did in 2014.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the Bears should not be ruled out when it comes to a quarterback in the draft. Would the Bears trade up for Marcus Mariota? That seems highly unlikely considering the other roster holes the team needs to fill. Players like Brett Hundley and Bryce Petty could easily be solid options under new offensive coordinator Adam Gase. The Bears need to start developing a younger quarterback behind Cutler. The player is not Sanchez, but he would be a solid stop-gap option for Chicago if the need presents itself.
