A free agent ahead of his age-43 season, Tom Brady‘s decision produced numerous headlines four years ago. Nearly a third of the NFL was connected to the all-time QB great, with the passer-turned-broadcaster’s final decision believed to be a Buccaneers-or-Chargers call.
That may well have been the case, but Brady — doing his fourth regular-season broadcast for FOX (h/t FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano) — confirmed the Bears were part of his decision-making process. We heard in September 2020 the Bears made an offer to the then-20th-year quarterback but lost out due to multiple factors, but Brady said Sunday he gave “serious consideration” to choosing Chicago.
When the Bears-Brady connection surfaced four Septembers ago, the NFC North team was described as “in the running.” A cold-weather city did not appeal to Brady at that point, and the quarterback was intrigued by throwing to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin while playing closer to his oldest son, Jack, whose mother is actress Bridget Moynahan. Brady also mentioned Bruce Arians playing a key role in convincing him to sign with Tampa Bay, which gave him a fully guaranteed $50MM deal over two years.
The Bucs and Chargers were both agreeable to Brady’s terms by the end of the process, pointing to the Bears potentially finishing third here. The ageless passer had been interested in his hometown 49ers, who stuck with Jimmy Garoppolo, and replacing Drew Brees — had he chosen to retire, which the future Hall of Famer did not — as well. Among realistic options, Chicago joined L.A. in needing to take another route after the high-profile FA’s decision.
At that point, Chicago was coming off an 8-8 season — a step back from its 12-4 2018 showing — and had begun to determine Mitch Trubisky was not going to be the franchise option they’d envisioned. The Bucs and Chargers did not have starting QBs under contract, with Jameis Winston and Philip Rivers each free agents. This Bears’ pursuit also differed from the Raiders’ effort, as Las Vegas then bowed out early — as Brady has famously discussed — and had a second-contract QB (Derek Carr) rather than a former first-round pick playing on a rookie deal.
That Bears edition rostered Allen Robinson, who was heading into his third season with the team; Darnell Mooney arrived weeks later as a fifth-round pick. Chicago had Matt Nagy calling plays with an offensive line that included the likes of Cody Whitehair, James Daniels and veteran…