Josh McCown still wanted by Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears quarterback Josh McCown (12) gets set during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Bears 54-11. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery has been a busy man lately, and the Bears announced extensions to three key impending free agents in cornerback Tim Jennings, underrated guard Matt Slauson, and of course a big extension to star quarterback Jay Cutler. All three were very wise extensions made by Emery, who also extended two other key players in kicker Robbie Gould and fullback Tony Fiammetta last week. The Bears are doing an excellent job right now, but the offseason ahead is a crucial one due to an awful defense that needs to be fixed up; that’s not an easy task.
According to ESPN Chicago’s Jeff Dickerson, Emery stated that the Bears are still interested in keeping veteran backup Josh McCown around, and I wouldn’t be surprised if an extension was right around the corner for McCown. Even though he is seriously considering mulling retirement since the awesome, down-to-earth QB wants to spend more time with his family, I don’t expect McCown to hang up the spikes. He had the best year of his career, as he came out of nowhere and had a great year for the Chicago Bears; he even led the NFL in ESPN TQBR over the likes of Peyton Manning and Nick Foles. That obviously doesn’t mean he had a better year than those two, but it shows that he was excellent in his own right.
The Bears would be wise to keep McCown around as Cutler’s backup, especially after how well McCown has played. He’s won the fans over and also brings an awful lot of intangibles to the table; it’s clear that both he and Cutler have a great working relationship, which is important for the starter and backup. That said, McCown played so well that he could have very well priced himself out of the Bears range, since he could make some good money on the open market. Stay tuned on this one, but it’s nice and unsurprising to hear that the Bears want to keep the solid, feel-good QB around.