Bears could target Alex Smith in free agency

“You want to talk about a potential, potential place he could land? Obviously, you’re going to have teams interested if he wants to play,” NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport noted on Monday. “I would keep an eye on the Chicago Bears, simply because of Matt Nagy, his role there as the head coach and a former coach for Alex Smith in Kansas City. They still need a quarterback, and it would make some sense.”

It was reported earlier on Monday that Washington will soon move on from the 36-year-old Smith. That move would save the team nearly $15 million against the 2021 NFL salary cap.

As it relates to Smith, he’s interested in continuing playing after returning from a devastating leg injury this past season en route to earning NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors.

Does Smith make sense for the Bears?

Yes and no. Smith enjoyed a tremendous amount of success under current Bears head coach Matt Nagy when the latter was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator back in 2017. That season saw Smith throw for north of 4,000 yards with 26 touchdowns against five interceptions. He was ultimately traded immediately after the campaign in order for Kansas City to make room for Patrick Mahomes.

The issue here is Smith’s advanced age and the fact that he might not be seen as anything more than a backup-caliber quarterback right now. The former No. 1 pick posted a 5-1 record in six starts for Washington last season. However, he also threw just six touchdowns against eight interceptions during that span.

Statistically speaking, the Bears wouldn’t find a major upgrade if they were to replace Mitchell Trubisky with Smith. On the other hand, Smith has posted an absurd 80-36-1 record with 148 touchdowns and 56 interceptions over the past decade. Perhaps Chicago takes a chance that he returns to 2017 form. It would likely be a low-cost option in terms of the finances.

The larger question here is whether the Bears have other alternatives. Wilson’s agent list them as one of the teams the star quarterback would be willing to be traded to. However, it’s up in the air whether the Seattle Seahawks would even consider that possibility.

Meanwhile, Watson remains a priority target of Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace. Both are on the hot seat and likely won’t feel comfortable rolling out Nick Foles as the starting quarterback in 2021.