Tom Brady wrote the final chapter of his 23-year NFL career when he left the New England Patriots to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. It ended up working out for Brady, who won his record seventh Super Bowl in his first season with Tampa Bay.
At the time, Brady wasn’t thought to have many free agent candidates, but during the broadcast of the Buccaneers’ Week 4 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, FOX Sports’ new lead NFL analyst said Chicago He said the Bears were also “very stealthy.” I scouted him about five years ago during the future Hall of Famer’s free agency.
Sure enough, Bears president George McCaskey recently admitted: The Bears were interested in Brady. In 2020.
“Well, it seems like ancient history at this point. I remember we were interested in tracking him down, and it just didn’t work out for us,” McCaskey said. said, According to ESPN. “It worked out great for him in Tampa. … Whenever you get into a situation like that, you don’t put all your eggs in one basket. You look at alternatives. It’s the same in free agency. It’s the same in free agency.” If the person you’re targeting isn’t available, be sure to pay close attention to all your other options.
“So that was one of the options we were considering.”
[Related: Tom Brady on the Bears?! Would it have resulted in a Super Bowl for Chicago?]
Brady never regretted his choice to sign with Tampa Bay over Chicago, especially after the aforementioned Super Bowl win and three consecutive playoff appearances, before retiring for good after the 2022 season.
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As for the Bears, they started 2020 with 2017 first-round draft pick Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback, but added veteran Nick Foles to the quarterback room, and both players each played a significant number of starts. fulfilled. After the 2020 season, Chicago signed veteran Andy Dalton and traded up to select quarterback Justin Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft. Fields was the Bears’ main starter through 2023 before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers last offseason to make way for Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Bears are currently 3-2 with Williams under center and on pace in the competitive NFC North. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers remained a playoff contender even after Brady’s departure, winning their third consecutive NFC South title last season with Baker Mayfield as their starting quarterback.
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