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As it currently stands, Jay Cutler will be the only quarterback under contract with the Chicago Bears in 2017... The others we’ve had around are in various states of free agency after 2016:
- Brian Hoyer: Free Agent
- Matt Barkley: Restricted Free Agent
- David Fales: Restricted Free Agent
- Connor Shaw: Exclusive Rights Free Agent
Of course, Cutler is under contract for another four years after this season, not scheduled to become a free agent until the year 2021.
However, many believe he’s played his last down in Chicago, which means the team will either have to pull off another trade, sign a free agent, or draft someone to come in and play as a rookie. Or, any combination of the three.
On Monday, one of the best in the business, Dan Kadar, posted his most recent 2017 mock draft, and has Chicago taking a quarterback with their #4 overall selection.
4. Chicago Bears — Mitch Trubisky, QB, North Carolina
Matt Barkley has been solid for the Bears while starting for Jay Cutler. But is he going to be good enough going forward to stop Chicago from taking a quarterback in the first round? That’s going to be one of the lead stories to follow leading up to the draft. In this mock draft, obviously the answer to that question is no.
This is incredibly interesting, considering Trubisky is the first quarterback coming off the board in this mock draft. He’s got Deshaun Watson from Clemson going at #8 to the Cleveland Browns (via the Eagles), and DeShone Kizer from Notre Dame at #9 to the Arizona Cardinals.
Trubisky is considered by many to be the best quarterback in a weaker-than-normal draft class this year, but he’s also arguably the only potential franchise quarterback in the group. Trubisky has good size (6’3, 210), athleticism, and has already shown the ability to make throws like other current NFL players.
If the real NFL Draft were to fall this way, would you be in favor of the pick for Chicago?