As it turns out, not everybody thinks Bears General Manager Ryan Pace got fleeced.
In fact, he got an endorsement of his bold move for a quarterback from a Hall of Famer — provided the move works.
Former Packers G.M. Ron Wolf said he respected Pace’s decision to trade third- and fourth-round picks and next year’s third-rounder to the 49ers to move up one spot to select Mitchell Trubisky.
“I admire anyone with the gumption to [do that],” Wolf said, via Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times. “If you have the conviction, which they obviously do, that this is their savior . . . you go and get him. It takes intestinal fortitude and he displayed that. He has a belief in the player. And not only Pace, but the other people must be in line with that, too. If that’s your guy, you go do it.
“You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. They thought enough of [Trubisky] and got him. Lord knows they needed a quarterback, so they got one.”
Of course, there is the small matter of whether Trubisky turns out to be any good. But Wolf knows about being criticized on the front end of moves that looked much better in hindsight.
In 1992, he sent the Falcons a first-round pick for their unwanted backup quarterback, a move which might have earned the long-time personnel man a ticket to Canton. He initially offered the Falcons a third, then a second, but was willing to part ways with the first for Brett Favre.
“I thought [Favre] was the best player in the 1991 draft — no question about that,” Wolf said. “For me to have an opportunity the next year to get that player, I had to do it. So I did it and it worked out.”
The only thing more costly than paying too much for a quarterback is not having one. So if Trubisky turns into half the player Favre was — or even a solid and stable starter — the cost of three mid-round picks will quickly be forgotten.