Could Sam Darnold Be Bears Option 2 if Carson Wentz Chase Ends Badly?

Every team looking for a starter at quarterback needs a fallback plan but considering Sam Darnold for that role could mean some huge risk-taking by Bears GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy.

One of the problems with pursuing Carson Wentz in a trade for the Chicago Bears is their lack of a fallback plan.

Without a Bears bona fide alternative for starter, the Philadelphia Eagles know they hold the upper hand in their trade demands for Wentz.

The only Bears options for a starter next season would be Mitchell Trubisky and one of several cast-off second-rate free agent quarterbacks. 

There is no Deshaun Watson possibility because Houston currently plans to keep him and if he was available the Bears lack what's necessary to make the deal. And because Watson isn't on the market, the Bears can't make a deal for Derek Carr. The Raiders reportedly won't trade Carr unless they know they're getting Watson in a three-way deal.

So what is the backup plan if Wentz gets away from the Bears and winds up in Indianapolis? Lurking in the background all along has been this possibility the Bears could trade for Sam Darnold. 

In fact, ESPN has reported the Jets have received multiple calls about a trade for Darnold, the third pick of the 2018 NFL draft.

The problem with Darnold is he hasn't produced. His NFL potential is only theory.

Whereas Wentz had three years of high productivity and ranked among the league's best once, Darnold has done nothing by comparison.

A team trading for Darnold is getting a quarterback with passer ratings of 77.6, 84.3 and 72.7. He hasn't posted an average yards-per-pass attempt above 6.9, has thrown 39 interceptions in 38 games and never hit 60% completions in any of his three seasons. Those are the kind of numbers that cause teams to decline fifth-year options on quarterbacks.  Actually, they're closer to the numbers that cause teams to cut quarterbacks.

They're worse by far than Trubisky's.

There is one tie between Trubisky and Darnold making the Jets quarterback possibly look better than his numbers show.

Playing for the Jets and playing under Dowell Loggains and Adam Gase definitely clouds his ability. 

The Bears have seen what happens to a valued quarterback in the draft when he works with those two. Trubisky worked with both and hasn't worked out even after three years of tutelage from Matt Nagy. So it's just rough gauging how Darnold might do with other coaches.

All of this taken into account, if the Jets really are asking for a first-round draft pick for Darnold then the reaction has to be laughter, click and buzz.

Darnold can fit some of what the Bears need in a passer. He has above-average size (6-foot-3), is very mobile and a dynamic type of leader. No one questions his arm.

Yet, no one knows if he can read defenses any better than Trubisky could. In fact, there is nothing at all available to indicate he can. 

This isn't an Alex Smith type of situation or Drew Brees where there is obvious talent which hasn't yet been brought to light. Darnold has proven nothing and the trade compensation for the Bears in this case should be something much lower.

With Nagy and GM Ryan Pace in situations where they need to be successful next year, the acquisition of a quarterback who could be a long-term project like Darnold would be less than ideal.

A proven veteran or a quarterback like Wentz, who had success and then one bad season, is more along the lines of what could succeed in Chicago in 2021. 

Darnold could only succeed at showing he might have potential down the road.

Acquiring Darnold might not be any better than bringing back Trubisky. In fact, the number say Trubisky is superior.

The trade demands of two first-rounders the Eagles are rumored to have for a team trying to acquire Wentz seem less unacceptable when the fallback plan is an option like dealing for someone as entirely unproven.

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