NFL journeyman Josh Dobbs has helped put the Minnesota Vikings in playoff contention. He has four touchdown passes and only one interception. The Vikings are 2-1 since he entered the Week 9 game in relief and led a comeback win.
“It’s incredible,” Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. “What he’s been able to do, and I’ve only heard incredible things about the kind of guy that he is and how brilliant he is. … I don’t think I would be able to articulate it well enough, to be honest with you, how incredible that is for him to go and have success really everywhere he goes.”
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Granted, the Vikings have had their fair share of heartbreak over the years and decades, but from a Bears perspective, the question can be asked — why don’t things like that happen in Chicago?
Rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent gave the Bears a little spark. You can go back to the Josh McCown hoopla of 2013. But the franchise that is so known for its issues at quarterback rarely gets to have its Josh Dobbs experience.
The Vikings are 6-5, three games ahead of the Bears. They’ve been to the playoffs five times since 2012 with four starting quarterbacks. The Bears have been twice.
We’ll see Monday night if the first-round pick, and hopeful savior of the franchise, Justin Fields, can lead the Bears to a win over Dobbs, cast off by team after team and now leading the Vikings.
If anything, we’re reminded how fickle this quarterback business can be.
Now, on to your questions.
Note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity.
Can you lay out exactly how the Bears could keep Fields for next year without committing to a high-dollar extension? For instance, can they simply keep him playing on his Year 4 contract? Then if they finally feel like he is the one, for Year 5, can they franchise-tag him? Then franchise-tag him again for Year 6? Thereby avoiding or delaying a huge guaranteed money payout. — Barry B.
The Bears can absolutely decline Fields’ fifth-year option and keep him on his current contract for Year 4 with no guarantee moving forward.
His cap hit is just north of $6 million next season, and without the fifth-year option, he’d be a free agent in 2025. And yes, as you laid out, they could use the franchise tag on him, but if you’re not certain after four seasons whether or not a quarterback is worth a long-term investment, he’s probably not your quarterback.
It’s cap-feasible, if not beneficial, to let Fields be the guy again in ’24 without the financial commitment for ’25. The risk is losing Fields to free agency, but if he’s good enough to earn a contract extension, the Bears should have no problem paying that to keep him in Chicago.
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That decision is murkier when considering the Bears’ opportunity in the draft. This is lining up to be the year for them to draft a quarterback, thanks to the Carolina Panthers. If they keep Fields and try to run it back again, they’re not likely to have a top pick in 2025 to draft his replacement if things don’t work out.
It’s an option to consider, especially if he plays well down the stretch. But at some point, you’ve got to just know whether or not you have your guy.
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What is your opinion on Ryan Poles and his future? Does Kevin Warren have the knowledge and ability to lead football operations? Is this another potential mistake for the Halas family? — Robert T.
Poles has provided the Bears resources to build this thing through draft picks and salary-cap space. He’s made some good acquisitions. I think you can feel good about cornerback Kyler Gordon and right tackle Darnell Wright, among others. The decision to add Bagent and be open to letting him win the backup QB job is a good one. But the poor record and some of the mistakes (trading for Chase Claypool, taking Velus Jones Jr. in Round 3) are still going to be part of the evaluation, too.
It’s important to remember that Warren is evaluating everything in the building. The general manager is very much in that evaluation. It comes down to the confidence Warren will have in Poles being the one to guide the Bears out of this as they enter an offseason with an abundance of resources. If the Bears are going to draft a quarterback, should Poles be the one to do it? If the Bears are going to hire a new head coach, should Poles be the one to do it? The lack of success on the field, and some drama off it, could certainly create a scenario in which Warren decides to start over completely.
We talk often about a GM wanting to draft his own quarterback. I imagine it’s similar to a team president and the person directly below him in the organizational flow chart.
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Warren is not only here to help get a new stadium. His experience with multiple football teams in a variety of roles appealed to chairman George McCaskey. On the day Warren was introduced at Halas Hall, I wrote about what he’s going to bring to the football side.
He didn’t play football, but he played basketball at a high level. He was a football player agent. He worked closely with Dick Vermeil during his time with the Super Bowl champion Rams. That doesn’t mean he’ll make the right calls, but he’s qualified. It’s too early to call this a “potential mistake.” We still don’t really know what Warren’s impact will look like. But different than the status quo for a team like the Bears is an improvement, and we’ll see how high Warren believes the changes need to go.
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The only major success the Bears have had with QB play came from trading for an already established player in Jay Cutler. Does Chicago look to try and acquire a QB by trading both first-round picks and Fields and other picks? The continued talk is about drafting Caleb Williams and/or Drake Maye, but given the questionable success of Bears and rookie QBs, is it worth it to pay a king’s ransom for an established starter, like Justin Herbert from the Chargers? Seems like he might fit the mold of being a high-quality QB needing a change of scenery. — Ryan H.
While Cutler put up better quarterback numbers in most categories than anyone else who’s played the position in Chicago, he also went to the playoffs only once. I’m not sure that was a major success.
However, this is still an interesting scenario.
I’m not as worried about the Bears’ poor history with quarterbacks as I am with the general struggles all teams have trying to draft quarterbacks. The Bears can’t use the strategy of “we’re not going to draft a quarterback because of what happened with (fill in the blank).” As they say, “Scared money don’t make money.”
But that same mantra can be said for finding a quarterback, period. When they traded for Cutler, they got an established player whom they could build around. I cannot foresee Herbert being available, but we’ve seen crazier things, and I’d take Herbert over those two first-round picks (and whatever else it’d take) without thinking twice.
It’s worth a discussion at Halas Hall. They have the cap space to take on a quarterback contract. They have the draft picks to acquire one. Is that better for the team than taking a shot on Williams, Maye or another rookie? Could the Bears make that move for a veteran quarterback, then draft a rookie in the middle rounds?
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When it’s a position as important as quarterback, every avenue has to be considered. The ideal way to do it is through the draft, but there is no sure thing. No one knows that better than the Bears.
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Hi, Kevin, in the other article Friday, you said “Dexter hasn’t been as effective as he should be considering his draft status and abilities.” Can you help put this kind of statement into context against the other rookies this year and/or prior second-round picks and what our expectations should have been for this year? The main thing people seem to want to see is pass-rush success and from what I can find, he has the fourth-most pressures (with fewer snaps than the leaders) and the second-highest win rate on pass downs among defensive interior rookies this year. — Mike P.
Dexter does rank well among his contemporaries with his 15 pressures, per Pro Football Focus. That’s tied with the Steelers’ Keeanu Benton and behind Pittsburgh’s Calijah Kancey and Philadelphia’s Jalen Carter among rookie defensive tackles. He’s accomplished that while playing less than 40 percent of the snaps.
That’s impressive, don’t get me wrong. But Dexter has gone five games without a pressure. He’s had only one in three other games. He does not have a sack yet this season.
And this is out of Dexter’s control, but the Bears’ lack of team success impacting the quarterback puts a little more onus on him to show up as a game-wrecker. He’s got to be the future at a critical position in this defense. He’s shown he can be, but it wasn’t consistent the first half of the season. He’s now put together back-to-back games with multiple pressures. Let’s see if he can build off that.
Which stadium has the best press box view? And which has the worst view? — Andrew K.
A lot of the newer stadiums, while nice, tend to stick the press box in or near the end zone. The suites get priority as far as the view goes.
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The worst is Washington. You’re low and in the end zone. The best press boxes are the ones where we’re as close to midfield as possible — Baltimore, Tennessee and Carolina stand out as stadiums that didn’t mind giving us media folks a nice seat on the 50-yard line.
Quarterback Josh Dobbs has given the Vikings a lift since being traded to Minnesota. (Jeffrey Becker / USA Today)Bears-Vikings fun facts
• The Vikings lead the all-time series 66-56-2 and hold a 9-7 lead in Monday night meetings.
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• Fields is 0-3 in his career against the Vikings but has a 94.4 passer rating in those matchups.
• In his career on Monday night, Fields is 1-2 with three touchdown passes, two interceptions and a passer rating of 91.7.
• The Bears are 33-42 all time on “Monday Night Football” and 16-26 on the road. Last year’s win over the Patriots ended a four-game losing streak on MNF.
• In a scheduling quirk, this is the 17th consecutive year the Bears’ game in Minnesota comes after September, and the 16th time in those 17 years they played post-Thanksgiving. (This is a bitter fun fact from a reporter who’d like to go to Minneapolis in nicer weather.)
Game picks: Bears (+3.5) at Vikings, 7:15 p.m. on ESPN/ABC
Kevin Fishbain: Vikings 25, Bears 22
(7-4, 5-5-1)
The Bears have done quite a job of wasting a good season from Cairo Santos by not putting him in position for game-tying or game-winning field goals. I see the offense playing a lot better than it did when the Vikings came to Soldier Field, but that’s a low bar, and this team hasn’t instilled confidence it can finish.
Adam Jahns: Bears 19, Vikings 16
(7-4, 2-8-1)
Bet on Justin Fields making more plays than Vikings journeyman quarterback Josh Dobbs in what could be a defensive struggle. This feels like a must-win for Fields and coach Matt Eberflus. The Bears should play desperate on both sides of the ball.
Dan Pompei: Bears 20, Vikings 19
(7-4, 5-5-1)
The Vikings are in line to make the playoffs, so they have a lot to play for. The Bears are going nowhere, but they have a lot to play for as well because jobs are on the line. If Fields plays against the Vikings the way he did against the Lions, and the Bears’ young players continue to show signs of development, the Bears can pull off an upset.
Jon Greenberg: Bears 27, Vikings 24
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(7-4, 3-7-1)
I’m told that Matt Eberflus blew away everyone with the Bears during his interview when he promised that he’d never lose 10 in a row in the NFC North. Well, an Eberflus always keeps his promises. The taking and never giving back of the division begins Monday night!
Alec Lewis (Vikings beat writer): Vikings 21, Bears 19
This game might turn on the Bears’ pass protection. Can it sort through the problems? Can it hold up for Justin Fields? If so, the Vikings are going to be in for a dogfight. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict a one-score Vikings victory … because, well, they’re the Vikings.
(Top photo of Justin Fields: David Reginek / USA Today)
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