USA Today
QB Situation Cloudy for Bears
The Bears made it four quarterbacks on their roster late Thursday by agreeing to terms with former Northwestern passer Trevor Siemian, and naturally the next question is how long Nick Foles will be with the team.
Siemian will receive $4 million over two years and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports he could earn $5 million with incentives. He started most of his team's games over a two-year period in Denver and played effectively but then went on to the Jets and Saints and hasn't played as well.
The fact the deal is for two years and not one tends to indicate Foles' time in Chicago will be short.
Foles is in the final year of his contract and counts for over $10 million worth of cap space this season.
Last week Foles had a $4 million roster bonus come due but if the Bears can trade him they can still realize about $8 million in cap savings, according to Overthecap.com. They can get back $3 million if they cut Foles after June 1 or with a June 1 designation.
Siemian quarterbacked Northwestern to a 10-3 season as a sophomore, including a victory over Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl. At Northwestern, Siemian completed 58.9% for 5,931 yards with 27 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.
In the NFL, Siemian has made 29 starts, leading the Broncos to 13 wins and 11 losses in 2016-17. In three years with the Broncos, he had an 81.2 passer rating, 6.7 yards an attempt and threw for 30 touchdowns with 24 interceptions. He completed 59.3% and 5,686 yards.
Siemian played in one game for the Jets in 2019 and then came in after injuries to Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill last year to complete 57.4% (108 of 188) with 1,154 yards with 11 TDs, three interceptions and a passer rating of 88.4.
One if his problems has been an inability to get the ball downfield. He has never had a yards per pass longer than 6.8 and for his career is at 6.7 yards per attempt.
Besides Siemian and Foles behind Justin Fields, the Bears also have untested Ryan Willis, the 2021 MVP of The Spring League. Willis signed last season with the Bears practice squad.
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