Why Possible Bears Interest in Jameis Winston Makes Sense

After news of of the Lions and Rams quarterback trade Sunday, rumors started popping up on social media about the Bears having an interest in New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston.

This came not from an NFL reporter but an analyst without a source cited, but it's something suggested at various times since the regular season ended by a variety of columnists and writers.

The possible interest makes sense, and never mind the fact the Bears could have had Winston last year for very little and didn't think he was worth the effort as they pursued Nick Foles. They were running a different version of their offense then, and Winston fits this one better.

The main reason to think the Bears would have interest, though, is simply Winston's high upside.

Along with the #Colts, the Chicago #Bears are another team with interest in Jameis Winston. #Saints also would like to keep him. He will have a market this offseason.
— Evan Massey (@massey_evan) January 31, 2021

As a starting quarterback for the Buccaneers, Winston averaged less than 7.6 yards per pass attempt only once. He averaged 7.2 in 2016 and that's just below the best Mitchell Trubisky ever did. His career yards per attempt is 7.7, which is well beyond solid.

In fact, in his first five seasons he threw for 19,737 yards. Only Peyton Manning threw for more yards in his first five seasons.

Winston, who is 6-foot-4, 231 pounds, gets the ball downfield with a strong arm and it's always said it takes an arm like his to fight through the winds at Soldier Field, although Jim McMahon did a pretty fair job of it and no one ever accused him of strong-arming the ball.

Of course, Winston also gets it into the opposition's hands nearly at the same rate he gets it into his own receivers' hands. Or so it seems.

Winston has 121 career TD passes and 88 career interceptions, all in five Tampa Bay seasons. His 30 interceptions in 2019 made him notorious, but he also had to throw the ball 626 times that season, a league high.

The best way to describe Winston is the antithesis of Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky was too willing to throw short and didn't throw well downfield. Winston threw too much downfield and didn't necessarily throw accurately when throwing shot.

They do it different ways, but often end up with the same result.

Winston throws it downfield while Trubisky had trouble with this but he also makes horrible decisions, much like Trubisky did.

In the end, both of them have similar career quarterback ratings. Winston's is 86.9 and Trubisky's 87.2.

There are other reasons to think these rumors carry more weight than some others that pop up in strange places on the internet.

First, Winston is a player the Saints' Mickey Loomis liked enough to bring in last year when he was a free agent and no one—including the Bears.

Everyone knows what Pace thinks of moves made by Loomis, his old boss. So if the Saints liked him, Pace probably would, as well.

Winston is in a situation not unlike some of coach Matt Nagy's past projects. Nagy is said to have made a huge difference in Alex Smith's development after a so-so start in San Francisco, and perhaps he could turn Winston from a thrower into a real live quarterback.

Another reason to believe there's interest is Winston has now had a full year to sit and watch and try to learn where he was making past mistakes in forcing the ball into coverages. He never had such a chance as a rookie as the Buccaneers forced him onto the field. He only threw it 11 times in 2020 as Hill got to be Drew Brees' replacement.

The Bears always regretted Mitchell Trubisky didn't get the chance to sit out a full rookie year, then when they benched him in 2020 they saw improvement after bringing him back. They could see this as a chance to be the ones benefiting from an awakening experienced by Winston.

Also, Winston could be inexpensive since he was a sub last year and New Orleans doesn't intend to pay him starter's money. The Saints got him for a $1.1 million cap figure to back up Drew Brees and Taysom Hill.

The rumor also cited the Colts as being interested, and because they do not have a starter after Philip Rivers' retirement they could drive up the asking price.

It's not often you can find a free agent starting NFL quarterback just sitting around doing nothing for a year for a reasonable price, especially one with 121 career TD passes in 70 starts.

Finally, the Bears would not have to trade for Winston like they would with so many of the other veteran quarterbacks who are said to be available. They could draft a quarterback for a long-term project while either Nick Foles or Winston starts in 2020.

The Bears can't really afford to deal away draft picks for quarterbacks when they've been without first-round picks since 2018.

Winston is a low-risk, possible high-reward type of free agent at quarterback. Of this, there is no doubt.

It's a fit because this is a season for Nagy and for Pace when taking some risks is worthwhile since there might not be a 2022 season for them.

Let the Saints have him. He’s a turnover machine!
— SJG1726 (@sjg1726) January 31, 2021

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