This structure would certainly keep the Bears in the race a lot longer next season. They still need to iron out the quarterback situation, the offensive line, and a tight end. With that said, having an extra team from the NFC in the playoffs would significantly increase their chances in 2020. If the structure was that way in 2019, the Los Angeles Rams would have been the seventh team and the Bears would have been the first team out.

That means that if they make some of those needed moves, they could absolutely be in the playoffs in 2020. It would at the very least, give the Bears a chance to be in the race all the way through to the end of the season. It would also make it much more entertaining for pretty much every team in the NFL as more teams would be in the race longer.

This move would expand the regular season to 17 games per team while shortening the preseason to three games. That is another interesting note to consider when evaluating how the Bears will be in 2020. Either way, adding a playoff team would increase the Bears’ chances of being in the playoffs for the foreseeable future.

On the most recent Bear Download podcast, Chicago Tribune member and Bears’ beat reporter Brad Biggs spoke about what he believes Ryan Pace will do to address the position. Biggs, who is one of the most connected Bears insiders out there had some very interesting thoughts. Now, he did not tie these comments to anything specific he heard, but because of how connected he is, anytime he renders an opinion, fans should take notice.

Biggs said he believed there were a number of fans who are of the belief that the Bears are going to “reboot” the quarterback position this offseason. However, Biggs stated he does not think that is going to happen, adding “I think they’re committed to holding on to hope that Mitch Trubisky can become and evolve and improve and rise to the level of that franchise quarterback.”

If the team isn’t going to bring in a front-line starter to challenge or supplant Mitch, how will they address the position? Biggs thinks they will look to add someone who has a lot of experience playing games, to serve in a true backup role. Because that type of scenario will not be appealing to many of the free-agent quarterbacks, Biggs thinks the Bears may need to ultimately trade for a backup quarterback.

So let me get this straight: 1.) the Bears are not going to bring in legitimate competition, 2.) they are going to risk squandering what little is left on their Super Bowl window, and 3.) they are going to use some of their very limited draft capital to acquire a quarterback to strictly serve as a backup?

That sounds like the worst possible scenario for the Bears, but also one that is very possible because — well — they’re the Bears, and nothing surprises me anymore with this franchise.

Harris joins a group of tight ends which was arguably the worst in the NFL last year.

The Bears will likely keep Trey Burton around, because cutting him and absorbing the dead cap makes zero sense. Seeing if Burton can regain himself both physically and mentally is their only choice with their starting tight end at this point.

Aside from Burton, the Bears still have Adam Shaheen and could bring back J.P. Holtz. Out of those two, Holtz is much more valuable at this stage. It’s sad to say, but the Shaheen pick was a swing and miss by Ryan Pace.

Going forward, Harris will likely function as mostly a blocking tight end. Although he is fairly athletic, Harris is a much better blocker than he is a receiver. In six NFL seasons, Harris has only caught 72 passes for 754 yards and nine touchdowns.

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It’s not that he isn’t capable of catching the football, but his skillset is better used in blocking. In football terms, he’ll be used at the ‘Y’ tight end.

The Bears have to go out and sign or draft at least one more at the position, because Burton is the only true receiving threat at the moment. If they wanted to grab one via free agency, the big names available are going to be Austin Hooper, Eric Ebron and Hunter Henry.

The draft has quite a few notable names which could fit what the Bears do, but the limited capital makes it difficult to spend an early pick unless the value is too good in the second round.

Harris is a decent start to bolstering the tight end group, but the Bears are no where near done. I could even see Pace bringing in two more which would have a shot to make the final roster while keeping Holtz and maybe even Jesper Horsted for training camp, at minimum.

Whether they add more via free agency or the rookie class remains to be seen. What we do know, though, is that there will be more additions to this group. You can count on it.

Yet the best case scenario for general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy is to avoid Bridgewater altogether. While some will argue that Bridgewater was an ascending quarterback in the NFL just five years ago, he’s never been the same player after his gruesome knee injury which he sustained in 2016.

In the hypothetical scenario where the Bears do sign Bridgewater, they’d be signing a boom-or-bust free agent. Paying big money to a guy who hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2015 is the biggest example of that.

Another area of concern regarding Bridgewater is when he was with the New York Jets briefly in 2018 and he was unable to beat out then-rookie quarterback Sam Darnold for the starting job. Some will argue that the Jets opted to go with Darnold since he was the future of the franchise however Bridgewater had more experience even if he was a stopgap quarterback.

Since his knee injury in 2016, Bridgewater has started just six games with five of them being in 2019. Even during his five starts in 2019, his numbers weren’t all that great but they were certainly better than Trubisky’s.

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During his five starts in 2019, Bridgewater would post nine touchdowns, two interceptions, and have a quarterback rating of 99.1 along with 1384 yards. These numbers may jump off the screen to some but it is worth noting that he was surrounded by playmakers at nearly every position, some of which included guys like Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara.

The question now needs to be asked: Was Bridgewater merely a product of the scheme he played in and the talent that he was surrounded by or was he legitimately good enough to carry the Saints when Drew Brees went down?

Wherever Bridgewater is playing next season, there’s no guarantee he’s able to replicate the success he had in 2019. And for the Bears, it’s better that they stay away from him and just hope that Trubisky can turn things around.

According to many reports, the Raiders are going to be very aggressive in going after superstar Tom Brady, and are apparently prepared to give him $30 million per year to kick off their first year in Sin-City. It also appears that head coach Jon Gruden has not been 100 percent sold on Carr since he took over the team.

The Raiders could save approximately $16 million by moving on from Carr, and his reasonable contract might make him an attractive candidate for the Bears.

Something else that might make him an attractive option is his relationship with current Bears’ superstar, Khalil Mack, who has not hidden his “bromance” with his former quarterback. And If Carr’s current IG post is any indication, he clearly feels the same way.

Now there is no way to know whether Carr is trying to cryptically tell us all something, or if it was just an innocent post, honoring his close friend. The reality is the truth is probably somewhere in the middle, with Carr sending a not so subtle signal that he would be more than open to the idea of coming to Chicago to be their starting quarterback.

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The question is “would the Bears want him to be their starting quarterback.” The logical answer is “they absolutely should be.” Yes, Carr does not come without his own limitations, but he is a much more effective (and accurate) passer than Trubisky to all levels of the football field.

He would be precisely the type of above-average game manager that Alex Smith was during his one year of overlap with Matt Nagy in Kansas City. If he is sending a signal and looking for someone to toss him a lifeline and get him out of Las Vegas, then Ryan Pace should be first in line to extend his hand.