The Bears could have signed Cam Newton or Philip Rivers or Teddy Bridgewater or Andy Dalton or Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota or . . . in free agency. Instead, they sent a fourth-round draft choice to the Jaguars for Nick Foles, giving him a three-year, $24 million contract.
For that, they begin 2020 where they finished in 2019. Mitchell Trubisky remains the Bears’ starting quarterback.
Coach Matt Nagy was asked Sunday whether the team had buyer’s remorse.
“No, not at all,” Nagy said, via Jason Lieser of Chicago Sun-Times.
Foles and Nagy spent the offseason using phrases like “right at home” and “riding a bike” when referring to the quarterback’s familiarity with the offense. Nagy was a quality control coach in Philadelphia in 2012 when Foles played for the Eagles, and four years later, the two were together again in Kansas City when Nagy was the offensive coordinator.
Yet, both admitted Sunday that a lack of on-field work in the offseason and no preseason hurt Foles.
“Because of circumstances of having less time on the field . . . now that I look back, I think that that probably affected some things,” Nagy said. “I think there is some of that there.
“With some time, I think he could have been in situations where he performed [better] and really it could’ve went one way or the other. But it didn’t. That’s where we’re at.”
Three weeks of practice, as it turns out, wasn’t enough for Foles in the offense. He will begin the season as the backup to Trubisky. It doesn’t mean he will stay the backup all season.
“I felt good out there,” Foles said. “Was I where I want to be? No, I wasn’t, but that’s not based on footwork or anything else. That’s based on the other circumstances that are out of your control, where, you are moving your family; you’re with a new offense; and you’re with new players.
“You really get a great time in the spring to go through OTAs and get those cobwebs out. That’s not an excuse. That’s just a reality of it all.”