Report: Bears, Mike Glennon to sign three-year, $43.5 million deal

Getty Images

The Bears and Mike Glennon appear to be on the verge of a deal that will make Glennon the team’s starting quarterback, at a salary that sounds like a lot but is lower than most starting quarterbacks make.

Glennon is expected to get a three-year deal with an annual average of $14.5 million, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. That puts Glennon’s total deal at $43.5 million, although there’s no word on how much of that is guaranteed and no other details about the structure of the contract.

That’s right in the range of what has been expected for Glennon, and the average of $14.5 million puts him at 23rd in the NFL among quarterbacks, below Andy Dalton’s $16 million but well above Robert Griffin III’s $7.5 million.

Glennon is expected to start for the Bears at first, but the team would also likely draft a quarterback. If the Bears use the third overall pick in the draft on a quarterback, that means Glennon will just be a stopgap starter and that the high pick will be the quarterback of the future. But for now, anyway, Glennon is getting paid in Chicago.

92 responses to “Report: Bears, Mike Glennon to sign three-year, $43.5 million deal

  1. The Bears are gambling here. If they get the right pieces around him, though, I like their chances at at least being a tolerable offensive team.

  2. haha, this is why the bears are a joke and have been since january of 1986. absolutely horrible decision.

  3. This is just amazing. He’s a career backup. He won’t embarrass himself, but he’s certainly not the answer. Brock 2.0.

  4. I literally haven’t stopped laughing since I read the headline. This is awesome! LMAO

  5. So what happens next year when John Fox and Ryan Pace get fired? Going to be awkward for the next coach and GM with this contract on the books for 2018.

  6. Who is running the show up there? Obviously no one that has ever watched Mike Glennon in a game.

  7. The real problem the NFL is having now is mediocre players are being paid top dollar. They are not superstars! The fins signed a WR for $20m and he had 750 yards last year.

  8. as a Mass native living in chicago and married to a bears fan my wife siad “WHAT IN THE F### are they doing.?!”

    Good to be a Patriots fan, but man, i feel bad for bears fans. no line help is going to kill this kid.

  9. And look who decided to park in the basement of the NFC North for the next 3 years. Thank you Chicago. 🙁

  10. A couple years ago, he was a serviceable QB who did a decent job managing the ball. Trent Dilfer taught us you can be an all-time awful QB and still win a Super Bowl.

    His own RB used to talk crap about him.

  11. John fox will now get the most out of this team and coach them to 8 wins a year for the next 3 years. Fox can make a bad team good, but he can also make a great team good.

  12. handsofsteelheartofstone says:
    Mar 9, 2017 7:43 AM
    haha, this is why the bears are a joke and have been since january of 1986. absolutely horrible decision.
    —————-
    After years of building for the past, then years of being in denial, da Bears are just starting to think about building for the future. Kind of like the Steelers in the coming decade after Big Ben retires but without as much PEDs, HGH and injury-report cheating.

  13. Rivers, Wilson, … Glennon? Huh? And NC State never even won an ACC football championship?

  14. Wow, I know the owners wont starve but that’s insane considering the Buc’s didn’t think enough of him and drafted Winston.

  15. Glennon could be a decent starter.

    Browns QB
    Bortles
    Tannehil
    Jets QB
    Tyrod Taylor
    Wentz
    Goff
    49ers QB
    Bradford
    Alex Smith
    Broncos QB

    He is just as pathetic as the guys and soon to be guys above.

  16. I like the Glennon signing, I remember wanting the Bears to draft him…And now I’m wondering if either Myles Garrett or Mitchell Trubisky – whichever one Cleveland fails to draft – will slide to #3.

  17. Anyone complaining here want to debate the FACT Mike Glennon will be 10 times the team leader of Jay Culter? (Didn’t think so).

    Remember, Mike Glennon was good enough to push Russell Wilson out of a job at N.C. State.

    Jay Culter’s numbers in 2015 (last full season) were 3659 yards, 21 Tds, and 11 INTs. In a full season with the Bears Mike Glennon’s numbers will be better.

    GMs and fans are all googly-eyed for Mr. “2 game starter” Jimmy Garoppolo winning 2 games on a Bill Belichick Super Bowl winning Patriots team … meanwhile Mike Glennon in 18 starts (for a bad Bucs team) had over 4000 yards, 29 TDs, and only 14 INTs.

    Looking forward to watching Mike Glennon making the most out of his opportunity in Chicago.

  18. Didn’t they just get out from under one terrible contract with Cutler and now they turn right around and do this? How quickly they forget.

  19. That contract tells you all you need to know about the current status of the NFL QB position.

  20. Am I reading this correctly?

    Is this Brock Osweiller 2.0?

    Maybe the difference is only the first year is guaranteed.
    But still, 14.5MM for him, for 1 year?
    Thats nuts.
    The Bears GM will probably get fired over it.

  21. Commenters on here are so predictable. I’ll bet at least half of people ridiculing this signing couldn’t tell you on thing about Mike Glennon other than that he wasn’t a starter the last two seasons.

    His numbers as a starter, while playing on a terrible team, were better over a much larger sample size than Brock Osweiler put up while playing on a Super Bowl champion, yet the Bears got him for far less money and for less years than the Texans gave BO.

    Plus, you are commenting without knowing any of the details of the contract. This could essentially be a one-year deal depending on the terms.

    I don’t know if Mike Glennon will be any good, and neither do you. But this is not a ridiculous contract.

  22. It’s nowhere close to a bank-breaking contract with today’s salary cap. I think it’s reasonable to give this guy a shot at a reasonable price. The part of the article I disagree with is the Bears drafting a QB with the #3 pick. THAT would be foolish. They need to improve their OL.

  23. I don’t get it. Why bother? Because you HAVE to spend money? If you want a stopgap QB, waiting for a as yet to be drafted rookie, to get you 5-6 wins, why not spend the money on other positions? Build your team for 3 years while that rookie develops.

  24. I think this is the first time I’ve disagreed with larryboodry on anything regarding the Bears. This is a stupid signing for too much money for an unproven backup with mediocre talent who is downright boring to watch.

    After typing all that, I guess he does belong on my team.

  25. I have no idea why everyone is losing their minds over this……the money is average for a bottom third tier QB, actually 23rd. If the money is guaranteed for 2 of the 3 years, and you can walk away in year 3 w no cap hit, it’s a fair deal. Now draft your future, not at #3, but trade back in late first rd to get the fifth year option, on a Mahomes, or Kizer, or potentially Watson or Trubisky, depending how far they fall. Let them sit and hold a clip board for 2 years.

    This kid is young, and has upside. He was playing pretty well, with such offensive weapons as Vincent Jackson, and………….yeah, no one. He had an awful O line, his runnings backs were, Charles Simms, and Bobby Rainey? Then the offensive guru Lovie Smith came in and decided to sign Josh McCown…..yeah, all signs point to Glennon being terrible, right? Gimme a friggin break…..

    Calm down…….oh and by the way, He’s not Jay Cutler!

  26. I decided to be patient when I realized that this kid’s career arc was likely hampered by Lovie being his head coach. Lovie never developed a QB. He hired one decent offensive coordinator in his life, and that guy took his job.

    Let’s see what Glennon can do. Hoyer is off to Santa Clara and Connor Shaw is still rehabbing a broken leg. Other than Watson (and maybe Trubisky) all of the other QBs in this year’s draft look like they’re going to take a while… Glennon lets us focus the #3 pick on a proven defensive player (Jamal Adams anyone) while taking a flyer on another QB later in the second or third round.

  27. Bears fan here but I actually feel sorry for the guy. From everything I can see, sentiment is at least 9 to 1 among Bears fans that this is a bad move and that includes no small number of folks saying they would take another year with Cutler as the preferred alternative.

    Glennon’s standard of living is about to skyrocket but I hope he’s a lot tougher than he looks because he is going into the ultimate prove-it scenario and will be under the microscope from Day One. Bears fans have seen decades (literally) of bad quarterbacking and the tolerance for yet another whiff at that position is zero.

  28. The NFL is Crazy !…there is way too much money for the talent on the field ! Players are being grossly over payed
    and the quality of gamesmanship is on a steady decline.
    I have watched NFL games at a 20 percent level of what I did, just a year ago, and have been a fan since 1956 ! You can dismiss me as being a crusty old man ..BUT…I know a large number of much younger fans who feel the same way !

  29. This guy has more experience starting & better numbers than Osweiler did a year ago. It looks like a crazy number, but this is the going rate for a mid to back of the pack starter. Besides, it’s a 3 year bridge contract. If he sucks, oh well, who else are they gonna spend the money on? And they’re done with him after year 1 or 2. They aren’t contending anytime soon anyway. If he does well, then it looks like a bargain. This really isn’t that crazy considering the rise in the cap.

  30. It’s a lot of money but as the article states, its bottom third. Look, you can criticize it but what are your options? Stay with Cutler? No. Resign Hoyer? That’s no major upgrade. Who else is there? The reality is there is no one, a rookie is going to take time to develop, there are no top ten QBs just floating around out there. They made a move and now its what else can they do to improve.

  31. This signing is so John Fox. “Get a ‘known quantity’ that will ensure the offense is never on the field very long, because offense is bad. Get the defense back out there. Doesn’t matter if we get shut out on offense; our defense will score enough to win games. Well, 7 games anyway…..”

    Fox led my Panthers to 3 winning seasons in 9 years, managed to coach Peyton Manning for 3 years and win no Super Bowls, and now is failing miserably in Chicago. And yet, when he gets fired in January, he’ll be out of work for about an hour before someone hires him – and it will take an hour only because the fool team that hires him will have to give a token interview to a black guy first. Why he is considered such a wonderful coach, I’ll never know.

  32. evermoresg says:
    Mar 9, 2017 7:55 AM
    A couple years ago, he was a serviceable QB who did a decent job managing the ball. Trent Dilfer taught us you can be an all-time awful QB and still win a Super Bowl.

    His own RB used to talk crap about him.

    ________________________

    Yeah when you have a top 5 defense in the history of the NFL, the Bears are light-years away from even dreaming of having that.

  33. Just when I was convinced the Rick Spielman was the dumbest GM in all of pro football, the Bears sign a journeyman Qb to big money.

    And all the Packer and Lion fans say “Amen”

  34. the guy had a good rookie year on a lousy team and then the bucs killed his career by hiring lovie smith. who else but what is offense lovie would bench a solid young starter for josh mccown without any chance to compete for the job? that worked out so well they drafted winston which ensured he would never get a chance again in Tampa. not saying he will be an all pro but at least he has shown he can play in the NFL. amazing that he is getting all this hate while everybody drools over Tom Brady’s backup who has done nothing, yet he should be traded for multiple draft picks including a #1? not to mention what he would get in a new contract. the bears are taking a chance but he is a upgrade over captain check down hoyer and the other scrubs on the team.

  35. Its the price you pay for a lower tier starter with upside.

    People think this price is silly because the top end of the QB market almost never hit free agency until their late 30s. Brees was the last one and he was coming off injury (and small sample of success). And that was a decade ago.

    If, for example Mariotta or Carr were a UFA this week, they’d be making double that or more with double the years.

  36. Kapodaco says:
    If they get the right pieces around him, though, I like their chances at least being a tolerable offensive team.

    I’m truly not trying to pick on you Kapodaco, but I feel for fans of any team that have been so frustrated for so long that they’re willing to tolerate or settle for being “at least being a tolerable offensive team.”
    Good luck, my friend.

  37. jjb0811 says:
    Mar 9, 2017 7:52 AM
    The real problem the NFL is having now is mediocre players are being paid top dollar. They are not superstars! The fins signed a WR for $20m and he had 750 yards last year.
    ——
    The real problem is fans don’t understand the NFL free agency market. I can tell by how some claim that $14.5 million per season is “top dollar” for a QB and a $20 million total contract for a wr is also top dollar. Top dollar for a QB in this market is north of $25 million per season.

    Antonio Brown is getting in one season on average about what that wide receiver gets over the life of his contract.

  38. And now you know why the Patriots are asking so much for Jimmy Garoppolo. It’s because teams are so desperate that they will pay $14.5 million per year to someone like Glennon.

  39. Remember, Mike Glennon was good enough to push Russell Wilson out of a job at N.C. State.

    ======================

    Revisionist history.

    Wilson quit football at NC State because he wanted to concentrate on his baseball career. When that didn’t work out, he decided to transfer to a school who had the masters’ program he was interested in.

    Wilson had a better year at Wisconsin than Glennon ever did at NC State.

  40. I think Bears haters and even some Bears fans need to slow down with their hate for this signing. First of all, what’s out there right now that will make all that much difference on this team at this moment? Not much and don’t expect any of the QB’s in this draft to be the next Dak Prescott out of the gate. I think one thing is clear and that is Cutler never lived up to the hype. I’m not blaming Cutler for everything that went wrong here but I would say he didn’t help his cause most of the time. I think it’s hard to write off Glennon so quickly without giving a chance to see what he can do with a team built around him. I think Hoyer showed he could play well with this team, as did Josh McCown, so I don’t see any reason why Glennon can’t be a serviceable QB for this team. The O-line is not as bad as some here think it is and that was with a lot of injuries to starters last season. I think the Bears could’ve done much worse and I think if they can have a good draft they might be heading in the right direction for the future.

  41. FrankRizzo says:
    Mar 9, 2017 8:29 AM
    why?? if he was so good they never would have drafted Jameis
    =======

    You’re fuzzy on your history. Winston was drafted to replace Josh McCown. Noted QB Guru Lovie Smith had decided to bring McCown with him from Chicago because McCown had played well the season before.

    If you want to base your opinion on what Lovie Smith thought of Mike Glennon, you have fun with that.

  42. Who is running the show up there? Obviously no one that has ever watched Mike Glennon in a game.
    ***********************************************
    The McCaskey family runs the Bears and that’s the problem! LOL

  43. Mar 9, 2017 7:53 AM

    as a Mass native living in chicago and married to a bears fan my wife siad “WHAT IN THE F### are they doing.?!”

    Good to be a Patriots fan, but man, i feel bad for bears fans. no line help is going to kill this kid.
    ***********************************************
    You feel our pain. The Bears are what the Pats were B.K. (before Kraft)!

  44. “Just when I was convinced the Rick Spielman was the dumbest GM in all of pro football, the Bears sign a journeyman Qb to big money.

    And all the Packer and Lion fans say “Amen””

    How many Super Bowls has Detroit won with Stafford? At least the Bears have been to a Super Bowl in recent memory. I’m not sure “Amen” means much from a Detroit stand point.

  45. Congrats Mike. Those in the know know that you are better than Jameis. Maybe not vocally as Jameis is as Close to Ray Lewis as a QB Has ever been but actually playing the game on the field. Congrats

  46. I wouldn’t get to freaked out about this signing until you see the amount of guaranteed money. Even with that, his salary range is still within that of a bottom-third NFL starter.

  47. Whoa, the Arm Chair GMs disagree? STOP THE PRESS!

    Calm down, he’s young, hopefully has some weapons to go with him. Get AJ on a discount and draft some Defense.

    It’s a lot of cash but blame it on inflation. “What the market will bear.”

  48. They might as well continue to play Matt Barkley instead of paying Glennon this kind of money. He isn’t the answer. No wonder these teams never get any better.

  49. They haven’t traded Cutler yet, have they? Yikes. $15 million a year for another lower tier QB. Maybe they know his talent level better than what Glennon has shown on the field. Sometimes it looks like owners are just trying to sell tickets and watch their franchise values go up but not really compete.

  50. I like this signing. Glennon might be the starter for ten years, even if they draft a QB at #3. There are some QBs rated pretty high this year that have bust written all over them.

  51. Mike Glennon’s numbers are misleading. In his rookie year, he should’ve had many more interceptions but he lucked out when DBs dropped some easy picks. That is unlikely to happen again which is why the Bucs drafted Winston as they saw Mike everyday and pegged him for what he is: a decent backup QB.
    At least Da Bears only signed him for 3 years and if the GM was smart, they structured the contract in such a way that they can cut him after year 1 with little dead money if he underwhelms like most of us suspect.

  52. I was born in 1980. I was just barely old enough to remember the Bears in ’85. The city was out of its collective mind in love with that team. The Cubs winning the World Series was something of a flickering candle compared to the roaring flame that was the passion the fans had for that team. It was -26 degrees for the parade, and the buses were literally stopped in the middle of LaSalle they were so swarmed with celebrating people.

    It has been a very, very, VERY long 31 years. This signing, in a way, makes it a little worse.

    No hope for my Bears. Absolutely none. Last year they were the least talented team I had seen in my lifetime, including the painful Dave Wanstead era. Why – oh why – on a league literally build to lift up bad teams are the Bears consistently one of the worst?

    One word – ownership.

  53. I thought Matt Barkley showed last year that he has a future in Chicago. Why sign another guy who might not be any better? Maybe the Bears hope one of them will be the guy.

  54. Last year the Bears tried to pick up QB Jake Rudock from the Lions practice squad. The Lions put him on the active roster instead. I think Rudock has a bright future in the NFL.

  55. If he sucks, oh well, who else are they gonna spend the money on?
    ———————–
    2 CBs, 2 safeties, TE, OT depth, DL depth, WR1), WR3. That’s the short list.

  56. Only way this makes sense is if they plan on drafting a QB. Glennon can be the stop-gap while the new guy develops. But the best fit for Glennon would be where he was–on a team with a true starter who wanted a competent backup.

  57. beedubyatoo says:
    Mar 9, 2017 9:38 AM

    Remember, Mike Glennon was good enough to push Russell Wilson out of a job at N.C. State.

    ======================

    Revisionist history.

    Wilson quit football at NC State because he wanted to concentrate on his baseball career. When that didn’t work out, he decided to transfer to a school who had the masters’ program he was interested in.

    ==================================

    WRONG… your twisted memory is pushing your FAKE NEWS narrative.

    From USA TODAY Sports (October 31, 2013):

    “Wilson reliving the awkward conversation with his former college coach, Tom O’Brien, who told Wilson on April 27, 2011, that he would no longer be the starting quarterback in Raleigh, N.C.

    At the time, Wilson was still mulling a career in professional baseball after being selected as a fourth-round pick by the Colorado Rockies. O’Brien, meanwhile, decided to move forward with Glennon

    “I wanted to go back there. And when I was told I couldn’t, it was one of those things where I had to figure out a way to move on and find a way to make something work,” said Wilson, who had been the runner up as the ACC’s offensive player of the year in 2010

  58. lukedunphysscienceproject says:

    “I don’t know if Mike Glennon will be any good, and neither do you. But this is not a ridiculous contract.”

    Disagree totally. The Bears signed him for about what they will be paying Cutler this year. Given that the market for him seemed to have dried up overnight, they overpaid for this contract. Hopefully there isn’t a lot of guaranteed money in it. It’s just another incomplete move by Pace and only proves he’s not the GM to get the Bears over the hump. I’m not a Cutler fan but he was never the sole reason this team stinks as it has over the years. They had a QB in place they could have used to bridge to the next guy to come around and taken more time to get all the pieces in place. Look, I’m a huge Bears fan and I would be totally happy to be wrong about this but I’ve been a NFL fan for too long not to at least realize on some level good and bad moves done by GMs over the decades. This one just doesn’t smell right.

  59. As a Tampa fan I just want to say Mike Glennon has been a great back-up for the Bucs, but I don’t think he will be the impact guy that the Bears really want.

  60. (14.5 mil.) A bit high but just want the 1st year guaranteed. Either he performs or then gets cut/released. Bears fans hoping for 6 wins this year and good use of the draft position for a change.

  61. Glennon’s contract puts him in the lower third of starting QBs. In comparison to Osweiler, who a lot of people use to critique the Glennon signing, here are the details:

    Osweiler: 4 years / $72 million / $37 million guaranteed
    Glennon: 3 years / $43.5 million / $ 19 million guaranteed

    This is a strong prove-it contract. If Glennon is any good, it’s reasonable compensation. If he’s terrible, they cut him loose after one season, no strings attached.

    On a football level, Glennon has more experience and better stats playing on a much less talented team (TB) than Osweiler played on (DEN) to get his contract.

    I wasn’t crazy about this signing. I thought Hoyer was a pretty solid place holder while they try to draft “the guy”. But suggesting this contract is above market value, or even that it’s detrimintal to the Bears future, is completely false.

  62. I’m a Tampa Bay fan and I like Mike Glennon a lot. He was shafted by Lovie Smith who brought in Luke McCown for some awful reason and we suffered for it and neither Luke or Lovie are here now (thank goodness). For the ESPN mouth pieces who keep saying “he’s so great Tampa drafted Jameis”, they clearly don’t understand the situation. Mike had earned that one season to prove he can play but Lovie literally handed the job to a career backup instead of giving a kid who’s shown ability his chance. Good luck Mike.

  63. Let Cuttler walk – sign Glennon
    Trade Marshall for a 6th round pick- don’t replace him
    Don’t resign Forte – get very lucky with Howard
    Let Jeffrey walk – sign Wheaton

    Tons of cap space, hope they start picking up some players

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.