Chicago Bears: Ryan Pace retains talent, also adds to roster
Chase Daniel, Quarterback
After Trubisky took over the starting quarterback position, the Bears had Mike Glennon and Mark Sanchez as the backups. Glennon was to make too much money to stay as a backup and Sanchez was basically a mentor to Trubisky, so the team needed a backup quarterback. They went after and signed Chase Daniel.
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Daniel is Trubisky’s new mentor. He is very familiar with Nagy’s offense, having played in Kansas City from 2013-15. Nagy was the quarterbacks coach during that time. He’ll be able to help Trubisky better understand what Nagy expects in the offense.
Daniel also has familiarity with Pace. He was Drew Brees‘ backup in 2010-12 when Pace was in the personnel department.
The signing isn’t too expensive. It’s a two-year deal worth $10 million ($7 million guaranteed). The Bears pay the guaranteed money in the first season so if it doesn’t work out they just let him go without incurring any dead money.
The concern for me is that Daniel is just 6-0 tall. However, if he has to step up for an extended period of time, the Bears are in trouble anyway. You’d like to feel that the backup quarterback can step in and do well (just look at the Philadelphia Eagles and Nick Foles). In eight seasons, Daniel attempted just 78 passes, completing 51 of them for 480 yards and one touchdown.
Hopefully, Trubisky stays healthy in 2018 and won’t need more mentoring after that. Then the Bears can look out for another backup.