The Chicago Bears have Caleb Williams and a trusted backup but not every team has that

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Forward Progress – A Chicago Bears Podcast

Episode: The Chicago Bears have Caleb Williams and a trusted backup but not every team has that

Host: Dan Bernstein and Matt Abbatacola (312 Sports)
Date: February 16, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Dan and Matt dive into the unique stability the Chicago Bears enjoy at quarterback with Caleb Williams as their franchise star and Tyson Bagent as a trusted backup—a luxury rare across the NFL. The discussion ranges from offseason expectations for the Bears, current Super Bowl odds, quarterback development issues across the league, and what Chicago could do to improve their roster heading into the 2026 season. Spirited and witty, the hosts break down roster speculation, proposed trades, the value of decent backups, and bigger structural problems for NFL quarterback pipelines.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bears’ Super Bowl Odds & Perceptions

[01:18–09:19]

• Dan notes the Bears are +2500 to win Super Bowl 61 (“14 teams ahead of the Chicago Bears” at [02:15]), prompting debate on whether this is an accurate assessment or just a ploy to attract Chicago-centric betting.
• Matt points out the wide spectrum of expert opinions:
  • “We’ve seen experts that have said the Bears are going to win the Super Bowl…” ([03:47])
  • Matt Bowen (ESPN) picked Bears over Bills, while others distrust the sustainability of Chicago's late-game magic last season ([04:10]).
• They reference Bucky Brooks’ NFL.com story listing Chicago as having the NFL’s sixth-best Super Bowl window ([05:48]).
• Dan: “There’s always going to be a bit of a gap between all of this excitement, this Bears mania locally and the presumption that last year was just the beginning. And then the cold water from the rest of the league …” ([08:01])
  • They stress volatility (“So much more to play out here” [08:37]) and that preseason odds do not account for roster and coaching changes, draft, or free agency.

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2. Quarterback Room: The Value of a Trustworthy Backup

[09:54–13:05]

• The Bears feel uniquely stable at the quarterback position, with Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent on the roster, unlike many other NFL teams:
  • Matt: “It felt really good looking at the Chicago Bears ... knowing that, yeah, if Caleb Williams were to go down, do we feel confident in what Ben Johnson and his staff think of Tyson Bagent?” ([10:39])
• They discuss hypothetical trade value for Bagent, debating whether a 3rd/5th round pick would be acceptable:
  • Dan: “Oh, absolutely … trust your coach’s judgment enough to feel okay about a backup QB … and also think he can find somebody else…” ([11:37])
  • Matt: “100% … it all goes down to this new filter … Ben Johnson filtered…” ([12:01])
• They agree a backup only needs to “get you through three or four games in the middle of the season” ([12:43]–[12:53]); long-term loss of a star QB is nearly always a death knell.

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3. Quarterback Development: League-wide Issues & Systemic Solutions

[16:31–28:28]

• Matt raises the challenge of developing quarterbacks under current NFL restrictions on practice time:
  • “Do you ever think that the NFL would ever get to a point and say, hey, we need to do something to really focus on being able to develop the most important position...” ([16:31])
• Dan proposes aligning college/NFL rules (hash marks, lineman downfield, offensive schemes) to force colleges to better develop QBs for the pros:
  • “If you truly wanted to make college more about developing NFL quarterbacks, you don’t allow them to run the bubble screens…” ([17:44])
  • He details why reading coverages and rapid decision making are what separate success/failure at the NFL level ([19:06–21:08]).
• Discussion on possibly exempting QBs from the salary cap, or league-run QB development programs, e.g., a “33rd team” for practice:
  • “Why not allow teams to invest more so you’re not having this revolving door of bums or going back and bringing guys who are coaching high school…” ([21:42])
  • Dan: “For something to be this big ... and have the most important position only be about 20 deep. Kind of sucks.” ([28:18])

Notable Quote

• “Once you lose [your QB], man, you’re screwed.” – Matt ([25:24])

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4. Roster Building: Trades, Cap Management, and Free Agents

[28:31–35:43]

• Discuss Miami Dolphins’ cuts (Bradley Chubb, Tyreek Hill) and whether Chubb might be an ideal fit for the Bears ([28:52]).
• Dan analyzes cap management in trades:
  • “The problem is when you’re forced to use both [money and draft picks] ... and that’s what we realized about the Khalil Mack deal.” ([31:06])
• They dissect a Maxx Crosby-to-Bears trade proposal (for DJ Moore and a 1st, Bears receive Crosby and a 5th):
  • “That is certainly up for more conversation and discussion.” – Matt ([35:00])
  • Both agree trading two or more 1st-rounders is too much; the Crosby deal would at least prompt a serious look.

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5. The Lighter Side: Old Faces, Draft Talk, Listener Engagement

[35:50–End]

• John Fox (former Bears coach) returns to the NFL as a “senior assistant” with the Buffalo Bills. The hosts riff on his role (“Senior ass butthole?”—Matt, [37:00]); quippy banter follows.
• Early NFL draft discussion: safety Emanuel McNeil Warren (Toledo) emerges as a Bears mock draftee; the hosts read scouting reports and poke fun at prospect evaluation ([38:00–41:47]).
• They pitch a potential “draft summit” podcast episode, possibly featuring listeners and fans contributing opinions ([42:20]).
• The show closes with high-spirited back-and-forth on who would be banned from their fantasy call-in segment.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|-------|---------| | 02:15 | “There are 1, 2, … 14 teams ahead of the Chicago Bears.” | Dan | | 03:47 | “We’ve seen experts that have said the Bears are going to win the Super Bowl … our guy Matt Bowen has the Bears over the Bills.” | Matt | | 08:01 | “There’s always going to be a bit of a gap between all of this excitement … and the cold water from the rest of the league...” | Dan | | 12:11 | “Ben Johnson filtered?” | Dan | | 21:08 | “The hardest thing to get right is the coach and the quarterback. And when you get those two things right, … it sets your organization in the right direction.” | Matt | | 25:24 | “Once you lose [your QB], man, you’re screwed.” | Matt | | 28:18 | “For something to be this big and have this kind of hegemony over sports and then have the most important position only be about 20 deep. Kind of sucks.” | Dan | | 35:00 | “That is certainly up for more conversation and discussion.” (re Maxx Crosby trade) | Matt | | 37:00 | “John Fox, Senior ass Butthole.” | Matt (joking, on poor note-taking) | | 41:13 | “Why is he a senior at Toledo?” (on a draft prospect) | Dan |

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Important Timestamps

• Super Bowl Odds Discussion: [01:18–09:19]
• QB Room and Backup Value: [09:54–13:05]
• NFL QB Development Issues: [16:31–28:28]
• Trade Theories & Roster Building: [28:31–35:43]
• Offbeat Segment: John Fox Returns: [35:50–37:00]
• Draft Prospect Talk: [38:00–41:47]
• Fan/Listener Summit Concept: [42:20–End]

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Final Takeaways

• The Bears are in a rare position of QB stability, which sets them apart as the offseason begins, but many in the league remain skeptical.
• League-wide, quarterback development lags behind need, and both hosts advocate for systemic change.
• Chicago’s offseason could include bold moves, but any combination of costly trades and cap hits must be scrutinized carefully.
• As always, Matt and Dan bring humor and deep Bears knowledge while inviting the larger community into the ongoing conversation about roster construction and draft hopes for 2026.

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Transcript

[A]

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[C]

I mean, if you're a Bears fan.

[D]

You'Re thinking Forward progress. Come on. 10219 2019.

[C]

Forward Progress A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports. You want forward progress? You got it.

[D]

We have awarded you forward progress as far as you possibly could have gotten down the field toward enemy territory. That is where we mark you in and that is where we start today. Dan Bernstein, Matt Abaticola with you talking Bears and NFL in what many people say is nobody's talking football now. Mr. Well, damn it, we're proving that wrong because we are and we can. Because I am more confident in the Chicago Bears perhaps than some are. You know, I just, I ran across this and I know that this has existed for a while, but when we were doing, when I was doing my research for our my bookie, DBU picks on dbu, I'm like, all right, well, there's nothing really going on, so let's look at some futures picks. And I stumbled across the 26, 27 Super Bowl 61 odds right now on my bookie. And there are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 teams ahead of the Chicago Bears.

[C]

Yeah, so that puts them right in the middle there. Dan.

[D]

What, what do we take from this? That the favorites right now the Rams and The Seahawks are at plus 950. Then it's the Bills and the Ravens, Bills at plus 1100, Ravens at plus 1300, along with the Eagles and the Patriots, packers and Lions both ahead in the division. And by significant number, they're at plus 1400. The Chiefs and the Chargers at plus 1500. The Niners plus 17. The Broncos plus 18. Texans 19 Jaguars plus 22. And then it's the next jump to the big Bears and Bengals sitting right smack dab in the middle at plus 2500. What am I missing? Or is this just an attempt to make actual Bears react the way I'm reacting and say that's gotta be wrong and just try to take advantage of a Chicago centric betting market that wants to jump on that?

[C]

Yeah, I think there's, there's a few things to look at because it's really interesting in this off season here, this early portion, early, early portion of the off season, we've seen experts that have said the Bears are going to win the super bowl making that, that prediction. And I know that's it's near impossible to make predictions, but companies are making their experts do those things. We saw that our guy Matt Bowen has the Bears over the Bills. No idea what's happening in the off season, have no idea what happened in the draft. So it's near impossible to do that. But it's just based on what, what people saw in 25, excuse me, and what they're projecting individually for the Bears to do. And I think a lot of people are turned off by the amount of the late game clutch heroics that Caleb Williams displayed saying that that is not sustainable. Now it's interesting because it was sustainable throughout the entire year. They did it seven times and set a record. So it worked in their identity last year. It certainly isn't something you can carry over into a new season. As we've discussed that each season is a single entity in and of itself and that you don't build, even the Bears coach said you don't build off of last season. That's, it's a different season, it's over, it's done. And we're one of the 31 teams that failed. So just based on what the roster is constructed of looking at right now, people are, people have their opinions to it and a lot of people are saying the Bears aren't going to do very well next year. And you see that there. And the odds makers, they're at the.

[D]

Middle of the pack or certainly not. Basically all that is saying is not win the Super Bowl. One way to look at this thing, it's, it's the word. Those are not the odds to make the playoffs. Those are not the odds to lose in the conference championship. That's just to or, or win the conference championship and lose in the Super Bowl. That is simply to win it. Right?

[C]

To win it. But they're, but they also have several NFL teams or NFC teams ahead of the Bears in being able to say to make the super bowl, those teams would have a better chance based on odds, you know, and then but there are some people that feel very strongly about the Bears based on what they saw in 2025, based on what they saw in Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson and what they can do moving forward, even though no one knows yet. And we'll find out what happens in free agency and the draft. One of those things, I'll just, I'll just mention this. I was going to do it later, but it ties into here. NFL.com Bucky Brooks had a story that came out today and it was the seven largest or the seven biggest, the seven greatest super bowl windows right now. So he has the top seven teams that he think have the largest super bowl window open right now. And these are the seven teams, Seattle, the Rams, the Patriots, the Eagles, the Broncos and the Bears at 6. These are in order, Bears at 6 and Jacksonville at 7.

[D]

The Eagles. That's an interesting one.

[C]

It is an interesting one. So from the NFC, Seattle and Rams, who again were tied at plus 950. I think you said in my bookie I did Pats and then Philadelphia, third NFC team, Denver, which I think is really interesting. And there could that could, I think you could see a I'm more likely to think there's a drop from Denver than there is Chicago this year. And we've seen stories about that already in the last week where teams that'll take a step back, Chicago, Denver being two of those teams. People think, I think the Broncos take a step back before the Bears would. Then he has the Bears at 6 and then Jacksonville at 7. So of NFC teams, the fourth greatest opportunity right now to win a Super bowl on this NFL.com story and that.

[D]

Obviously can change year to year. We could get to training camp and there could be a completely different assessment of their window based on what they do managing the cap. Because I think a lot of people are looking at that and saying, well, how is it going to look when they pay? Caleb Williams and others are going to say, well, of course. So it's just simply defined. And you look who's got quarterbacks who are still young enough or under a more reasonable contract at this point, or they've already gone through how to figure that out. And, and say, yeah, the Bears, as long as Kayla Williams on his rookie deal, their windows open.

[C]

Well, that's why I took the Bears at plus 2500. I thought that was a good number, 25 to 1 I'll take the Bears. And I made that better. Ready for the Super Bowl.

[D]

I remember. Yes. I don't know. I just. It shows that there's always going to be a bit of a gap between all of this excitement, this Bears mania locally and the presumption that last year was just the beginning. And then the cold water from the rest of the league and certainly from professional odds makers who were just like, yeah, that was fun. Now let's assess objectively what the likelihoods are this year. And it has nothing to do with what happened last year, correct?

[C]

Yeah. And there's, there's so much more to come. They'll figure out. And, you know, and what the Bears do with the cap and what they do in keeping their own free agents and signing free agents, if they go that route, what they do in the draft as well, too. So, so much more to play out here. But again, it's just, it's fun to have these, these conversations and to see what people think of the Bears and really is, you know, I've seen some consistency on teams like the Rams and the Seahawks. There's consistency there. The Patriots, I've seen more positive than I have negative. And the Bears are one of those teams that we're seeing, really a wide spectrum of thought going into next year. And again, so hard to predict without knowing everything that's going to happen over the next several months.

[A]

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[C]

One area, too that I wanted to discuss with you this morning is the area of NFL quarterback, because we've talked about quarterbacks a lot already and last week we looked at like 11 possible free agents, some guys that might be cut. Like, would you want any of those guys to be your starter? I saw this come across on social media over the weekend and people proposing trades. And I love talking about, you know, proposed trades. You just never know. But here's one that I saw that was really interesting. The Niners and the Vikings making a trade.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

And this was San Francisco sending Mac Jones to Minnesota to compete with J.J. mcCarthy. And in return, Minnesota would send San Francisco a third and a fifth round pick. And I wanted to look, as we talked about this quarterback situation with our own Chicago Bears and we both came to an agreement that it felt really good looking at the Chicago Bears with Ben Johnson in charge and knowing that, yeah, if Caleb Williams were to go down, do we feel confident in what Ben Johnson and his staff think of Tyson Bajan now? Certainly, the play drops tremendously and the chance of the Bears winning anything significant with Tyson Bajan drops tremendously if you don't have Caleb Williams, but we still feel confident in the backup situation. Looking around the league and what happened in backups in 2025, would you, would you, would you make a trade if someone came to you and said, I want Tyson Bajan to compete with my guy or to be my guy, would you trade away a third to fifth round pick for, for Tyson Bajan or would you take, I'm sorry, would you take a third to fifth round pick?

[D]

Oh, absolutely. And I think, I think both things can be true. I think you can trust your coach's instincts and trust his, the coach's judgment enough to feel okay about a backup quarterback doing backup quarterback things and also thinking that he can find somebody else to be close enough to that to be worth getting a third and a fifth.

[C]

Yeah, I agree with you 100%. And again, it all goes down to this new filter that we have to put on as Bears fans is filtering everything through Ben Johnson.

[D]

Ben Johnson filtered?

[C]

Yeah, the Ben Johnson filtered. So, yeah, certainly am, you know, confident in the ability of Tyson Bagent with Ben Johnson and his staff there in place, developing him, calling the plays, knowing what he can do best on the field to help them win games. But I'm also confident that he can find a different guy, whether it's in the draft or free agency that they could coach up and get to a point where he'd feel confident he can come in and win some games. Now, again, if Caleb Williams is down for the long haul, it doesn't matter who your backup is. You're just not going to win, you're not going to win a Super Bowl.

[D]

Right. I'm looking at a backup at most to get you through three or four games in the middle of the season. Just give you, give you a chance to win those games.

[C]

So if, if the Minnesota Vikings are looking to give away draft picks for a backup guy to see what he can do to push JJ McCarthy, I'm making that phone call. Hey, you know, like, what are you, what are you willing to look at.

[D]

For Tyson Bejes but this idea of pushing, like, I'm not sure I believe in the premise of if you're making that move for Mac J. Jones, you're. Are you really going to do the whole competition thing there? There's so much that's already been invested in McCarthy. You've already fired the general manager at some point. Just make a decision. Are you really, you really want one of these, these phony baloney training camp competitions? They don't work. They're not real. There's always a thumb on the scale. Make a call on your quarterback. How many you want to go through here? Yeah, well, I think, I mean, I.

[C]

Think the issue being Arnold and being Justin Jefferson and like he's very outspoken this offseason so far about his quarterback and that relationship and what, he just.

[D]

Wants a guy that can get him the ball on time. I mean, I understand that, but, but obviously his happiness. If, if there's somebody competent, he'll be fine. I'm not, I'm not having him sit there and scout quarterbacks for me. All he wants is a fair chance to get the ball. And, and I get that everybody should think that. I'm not mad at him.

[C]

No, not at all.

[D]

But if you're them, you're not, you're not doing this whole quarterback collection thing. And let's just keep going through guys here, Make a decision, commit to somebody. And if that's not J.J. mcCarthy, you got to unwind all of that fast because you've committed a lot to that track.

[C]

Yeah, you certainly have. And he'll be going into his third year now in the NFL. I know the first year didn't play at all, but if you, if you say, hey, we're bringing a guy in to push you, compete with you, I think that does more damage than it does motivation.

[D]

I agree. And I think you just got to give the job to Mac Jones and say we're done with McCarthy, if that's the point. And I don't even know. I don't think Mac Jones is all that good.

[C]

I don't think so either. Or.

[D]

Right answer.

[C]

Yeah, jj, you're the starter and we're just bringing a backup because that's what every team does. You have to have a backup quarterback and you got to have a third string quarterback. So. But it's your job and make that known right now. Move it forward. Yeah, but I also think it's a, it's a short leash. I mean, I'm not going past this year. If he, if he provides another year like he did this year for Minnesota, which I would love to see. But you know, Minnesota fans, I think you can't go past this year with JJ McCarthy if he's not going to deliver.

[D]

Yeah. Shopping around the right way. Shopping around to flip a couple of picks. And I don't know when you say this is just a deal that somebody put out there or the deal is there and being speculated because it's, it's real. I, I don't know. But yeah, I mean, there's, there's. Nobody is a backup quarterback under Ben Johnson. If somebody's knocking on your door saying, for this guy, we'll give you a third and a fifth. Hell yes.

[C]

Hell, yes.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Immediately driving to the airport.

[D]

Yes.

[C]

Drive them all the way to Minnesota, wherever it would go. San Francisco.

[D]

Sure.

[C]

Another name that came up as a quarterback is this, was this story I saw. Derek Carr said he'd be willing to come out of retirement for a chance to win a Super Bowl. What contending team is bringing Derek Carr on their team to make him the starter?

[D]

Nobody.

[C]

Nobody.

[D]

Right. No, but because he's, he's. Again, he's, he already retired because his shoulder didn't work. And then he's one shot away from that happening again. I mean, this is one of those times where show me the medicals, let my doctors look at it. But I'm not committing to you as a starter if I have something to win. No. Yeah.

[C]

And I, you know what I wanted to ask you and have a conversation about. And I just don't know if it's even possible to have the conversation full right now or if the NFL would even do something. But I know there are great restrictions on what teams can do to practice, and the practice time is really, really constrained and really refined and it's monitored really well. Do you ever think they would get to a point where they would allow more time for development of quarterbacks? Like, like really specialized time within season, off season to develop quarterbacks? Because, I mean, look at what's happened. Joe Flacco, Philip Rivers gets called out of high school to come play. And I know that was necessitated out of injuries to all the quarterbacks and the Colts. But even when Riley Leonard was able to start again, they still started Philip Rivers. And we just look at the number of bad quarterbacks. Like, do you ever think that the NFL would ever get to a point and say, hey, we need to do something to really focus on being able to develop the most important position not only in our league but in all of sports?

[D]

Well, you know what you could do is you could standardize the NFL and college rules.

[C]

How so?

[D]

I think you change the hash marks in college if you really want to change that, if you want, if you truly wanted to make college more about developing NFL quarterbacks, you don't allow them to run the bubble screens that allow the alignment to get as far downfield. You don't have as egregious a play side and a boundary side. And you, you force those offenses to play the much more balanced, at least geometrically balanced kind of NFL offense.

[C]

Yeah, I think that's, that's a great point because when you look at it too, and what we know what college is, college really is a development league for the NFL. And we see the guys that are obviously getting paid a great deal of money at the college level, which is great, but really, maybe that's a, that's a good possible solution to work together to uniform the two games so that it truly serves that purpose. Because.

[D]

But then that's got to go to high school again, because that really, right now, that's the difference. Because only the NFL, not high school, not college, only the NFL has the field designed the way that they do and the limitations on the downfield leakage on a play of the offensive lineman.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

And in college you can run a bubble screen every time. You really can. You. And that's why with these speed offenses and also because of the differences that you have between teams and talent, if you can just spread them out and make them keep putting their, they're, they're, they're worse players on the field. If you got five wide outs and they don't have five good defensive backs and you can keep dictating some of those matchups, it's, it's going to change things. And all of these things contribute little by little, like throwing pebbles into a bucket of water to raise the level. It's little by little that, that ultimately you don't end up and you don't force, Most importantly, you don't force college quarterbacks to read coverages. They don't have to. Everything is defined by what they are going to do and where the receivers go. It's not about the coverages. And that's what comes last in NFL quarterback development is an understanding, a diagnostic ability to walk up to the line, see what's going on, call the play, check out, know what's hot, be under center, turn your back to the play, know the snapshot that's in your head, turn back, compare what you see now to what you saw then.

[C]

In less than three seconds.

[D]

Oh, way less than three seconds. And that's the difference. That's what, that's what's so hard. If people are saying what's so hard, that's the big part of what's so hard.

[C]

Right. And that one, that one particular area is the thing that can be the complete obstacle from preventing a great college quarterback into even transitioning to a good.

[D]

NFL quarterback, even a competent one.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

The being able to say, this is the front, this is the coverage, these are the pressures. This is where my line is going to have to move. I got to get out of this play, I'm going to go to the next play, and then I've got my snapshot, I made my fake, I'm turning around, and now what? Like, that's NFL.

[C]

It's just when, when you look at the NFL, and even Kevin Byard said this last week, and we all know this from watching the game for years, that the hardest thing to get right is the coach and the quarterback. And when you get those two things right, it generally gets your. It sets your organization in the right direction. Doesn't guarantee anything, but it sets you in the right direction. And I just think if they could find a way to allow teams to work with and develop the quarterback position, the most important position on the field, even more, it just benefits the game because once you. Obviously when you lose your starter and you go to your backup, you're going to take a hit. That's just the way it goes.

[D]

Your.

[C]

Your backups aren't as good as your starters. They're just not. If they were, they'd be starting somewhere else. It's just how it works. So you're going to take a hit. But it's not like other sports where if, unless you're talking like a hall of fame, once in a generation type player for hockey or basketball, you lose that guy, it's going to derail your team. But in the NFL or like other, other positions, other teams, other sports, you can lose a great guy and still be successful. You lose your quarterback, you got. Your chances are pretty much nil to do anything. So why not allow teams to invest more so you're not having this revolving door of bums or going back and bringing guys who are coaching high school or guys that are, you know, north side of 40, because you just got. No, because they, they were, they were really good in their late 20s and 30s, you know, just the opportunity to spend more time developing quarterbacks. I, I just, I think they should come together, Think about It put something in plan that they can work on taking that, that extra time that doesn't take away from the team development, but use extra time to develop individuals at that position.

[D]

I thought you were going to bring up the idea of exempting a quarterback salary from the cap somehow, of creating like a standardization or a tiered level of automatic quarterback salaries that then don't completely hamstring team because it's not like you're making ideally in a cap situation. Some teams like, well, we're going to pay our great running back more. Well, we're going to pay our great pass rusher more. We're going to pay our left tackle more because we.

[C]

But.

[D]

But we all know regardless of any of that, of any differential in prioritization, that nobody gets away from having to pay the quarterback the massive amount of money. And therefore maybe it should just sort of be assumed that that's what you're gonna do. And then your. Can I make a weird comparison here?

[C]

Yeah, of course.

[D]

This is, this is. This is out of my ass. But it makes the point. Do you remember when there was a time on Wheel of Fortune where it would say, pick five consonants and a vowel? Yep. Right.

[C]

Oh, they don't, they don't do that anymore?

[D]

Well, no, they haven't done it for years. I don't know exactly what they do now, but because you remember what it was is people did the math and people. It became obvious that nobody would stand up there and say, well, pick your five consonants or four consonants in a vowel.

[C]

Yeah, people are like, R, S, T.

[D]

L, N, E or A. Yeah, E, R, S, T, L, N and E were the five consonants in a vowel because those were the correct ones. And then they changed it. They said, well, we're going to give you these. So now pick another consonant and another vowel just to see if you happen to get it right. To create that sort of randomness. And that's like what's happened with quarterback money. And nobody's going to look at a cap situation and be like, watch this. We're going to pay our quarterback less so we can pay everybody else more. It's. It's what the quarterbacks make is what they make. And when it's time to give them the contract, they get the contract. And I thought it was the similar argument is let's just take that out of it and make everybody manage their cap in other ways that can, outside of the quarterback, make them rise or fall outside of the quarterback. And I'm not sure the actual cash would work, but I Get it?

[C]

Yeah, no, that's. That's an interesting thought. I kind of like that. But I just think something specialized needs to be formulated for the quarterback position. Because once you lose it, man, you're screwed.

[D]

You're screwed.

[C]

And the whole talk is, well, you know, this guy just can't. He can't get the reps with the number one. He can't. We can't develop in season.

[D]

Well, maybe you get to something like what's happened with running backs or what is in. You know, what's happened in with hockey goaltenders. Most teams now you don't have your. Your main guy and just a backup. Backup. Like in case of emergency, you don't want to play your backup. A lot of teams will have that kind of rotation where you look at it like pitching and it's two guys. You just got to be good, you know, both in with running backs. We used to be all running back by committee. They don't have a bell cow who does anymore? It could be if you're really good at it.

[C]

Well, a handful of teams and say, look.

[D]

But a really smart team. If you think about it like Bill Walsh, if you had proposed this in. In the early 90s, you know, Bill Walsh is gonna be like, hell, no. I can. I got. I got three great quarterbacks here. I got two guys who can play for. Anybody would start anywhere because I'm just better at what I do. Why. Why should I agree to some centralized training center trying to lift the average play of quarterbacks? I'm doing it right here, proprietary. We're going to win because of it.

[C]

Well, I just, I just think maybe an extra opportunity to develop quarterbacks in season and if you don't want to take advantage of it, then don't take advantage of it. And you can't use that time elsewhere. It's either spent on developing quarterbacks or you just don't use the time and.

[D]

You just send your guy to the league camp or you don't. Right.

[C]

Whatever. Whatever it might be, whatever the situation is. And yeah, and if you're not interested, if your guys are good enough or you're better at it and you can do it within the time that you're given, then great. Then you don't have to do this. But I think every team would take advantage of it. Why wouldn't you?

[D]

Yeah, I didn't. I think they did. Didn't the league have a 33rd team? And I don't mean the media outlet 33rd team. I thought there was like a ghost team at One point, maybe it was because of COVID but I loved the idea of having essentially a league owned 33rd team that practices, that has a depth chart, that has its own practice squad, but you then have a. Some sort of availability of any one of those players who's going through a regular weekly practice schedule and, or playing an exhibition schedule of some kind or preparing for opponents in the same way that that is a shared developmental arrangement that would allow you to do that. Rather than like you say, getting a high school coach, getting somebody off the street, you have somebody who has been in uniform, in a facility, watching tape and staying in shape.

[C]

Yeah, I just think something needs to work around the most important position of the most popular sport in the country right now. Like they need to figure something out.

[D]

Yeah. For something to be this big and have this kind of hegemony over sports and then have the most important position only be about 20 deep. Kind of sucks.

[C]

Kind of sucks. Yeah. And 20 is pretty generous.

[D]

Well, I was going to say like it was a while ago where like 2A Tungavailoa was good and now he's bad.

[C]

Yes, he is bad. And speaking of, of Tua and the Miami Dolphins, they actually, lots of talk of that. They're going to end up parting ways with Tua, But Miami's already made a couple cuts in Bradley Chubb and Tyree Kill.

[D]

Now Tyreek Hill, we know is still rehabbing the injury might, might never be the same. He's already 30 and I think at least, yeah, I think Bradley Chubbs 29.

[C]

He is 29 now.

[D]

That's interesting.

[C]

Yeah, eight and a half sacks last year. He had a lot of quarterback pressures as well as numbers were pretty good. That's a guy that I'd be interested in taking a, taking a look at and seeing how that, how that might play out and fit in. Because he had like a $31 million cap hit this year, which is why he was released. And Miami's making a complete makeover of their roster as it is. But that was a too big of a cap hit for a team that's in a complete rebuild mode. But he's a guy to take a look at. I mean, that's an ideal situation for what the Bears want right now too.

[D]

You know, I was thinking about some of these potential deals that are there for a pass rusher. And I was, I, I've been sort of thinking around it. But you know how sometimes you get in a conversation with somebody and then you, you realize you, you hear yourself say something, you're like, yeah, that, that's kind of what I, I've been thinking around it, but I needed to pop it into my head first. Shout out to, to my buddy L. Big Bears fan. And she was asked, she asked me about every time I walk in there, she's got some informed Bears question and she was asking about the possibility of Trey Hendrickson or somebody else being added. And I was thinking about the Khalil Mack deal and something that actually my accountant said to me, he said, ideally, players have a cost, right? And it's one thing to spend draft picks like we were talking about with a quarterback. It's one thing to use draft picks as your resource source for acquisition and it's another thing to use money. And so the problem is when you're forced to use both and what I want to avoid and this goes for, and I haven't looked at the contract deals for Max Crosby or for Hendrickson or these other names that are always being floated. I want to think of this guy or that guy in Bradley Chubb too is if you can just sign a guy for money and you don't have to give up draft picks, that's great. Or if you trade draft picks and the contract is there and you don't have to immediately turn around and sign that person to above market or market setting money, that's okay too. You don't want to do both. And that's what we realized about the Khalil Mack deal, for example, is you give up the firsts and, and all the money if you're do. If you're. You have to do both. That's what ends up sucking when it comes to getting somebody who you haven't developed. Ideally develop first, first choice, draft and develop. And the second choice would be if you do have to acquire, acquire with either or either it costs you money or it costs you draft picks, right?

[C]

Not both.

[D]

Right. It's just you get in trouble when you give up the draft picks and then it's like, it's like, well, I don't want to do this unless I have the big long contract. Well, okay, here's, here is a precedent setting deal at your position into your early 30s and that just doesn't work.

[C]

Well, it's interesting you bring up Max Crosby because Bill Barnwell on ESPN had some potential trades that he looked at through the NFL. And one of those areas was Max Crosby and the Chicago Bears. And here's the trade and I want to see what you think of this. He said the Bears would give up a 26 first round pick and DJ Moore. So it's number 25 in this upcoming draft and DJ Moore. The Bears would then get back Max Crosby and a 2027 fifth round pick. So you're giving up one first round number 25 this year and DJ Moore. You get back Max Crosby and a fifth round pick. Now he says here in his story, the three year, $106.5 million extension was structured to make a trade before the 2026 season financially palatable. The deal doesn't have a signing bonus, so the Raiders would be on the book for only 5.1 million in dead money. If they traded him, his new team would be on the book for 60.6 million between 2026 and 2027, with the option to pay an additional 53.9 million in non guaranteed money between 2028 and 2029. So you're on the hook for 60.6 for 61 million this coming season in 2027. It's a lot of money. Yeah, I don't, I don't know how it breaks down, but let's just say it's 30 million each year.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

As cap hits, which is a little bit higher than your two highest guys right now on the team in DJ.

[D]

Moore and Montez sweat, is any of that, can you go to that bank? Is any of that convertible to bonuses?

[C]

I don't know.

[D]

I don't know. Because that would be critical.

[C]

But if you're looking at one first round pick and DJ Moore for Crosby and a fifth next year, I know we've talked about, you got to, you got to rinse and repeat and keep doing the same thing you did with this draft class. Would you be willing to part with your number one pick, which is 25 for Max Crosby, essentially, that's what you're getting.

[D]

I'd be, that's, that's worth a lot more of a discussion than anything else that I've heard.

[C]

I agree with that 100%.

[D]

I don't know how real that is.

[C]

Right.

[D]

But that would, that would be worth more consideration than anything I've heard yet. That's the, that's the most palatable math. I would love to know more about how that remaining 61 is allotted. What, what would be, what you're up against, what the commitment is and what you could eventually convert to cash bonuses to try to, to try to make room for what you needed.

[C]

Because if I am not going beyond a first round pick for this year for anyone, I'm not trading away two or three first round picks. Certainly not doing it. I think you stated it perfectly that that is certainly up for more conversation and discussion.

[D]

Yeah, you got your.

[C]

For me, for me to give away the 25th pick overall to get Max Crosby right now and D.J. moore and, and D.J. moore and get a fifth round pick back next year, that is certainly something to sit down and have a serious conversation about.

[D]

Yeah, you. You. You kept me from hanging up the.

[C]

Phone, though, for sure.

[D]

I'll say that, that, that's. That, that is. I, I didn't immediately hang up.

[C]

All right, so something to keep an eye on. We'll see what that, what those kind of conversations happen around Max Crosby. One of our guys is back in the NFL.

[D]

Well, one of our guys is back in the NFL. Yep.

[C]

It's a guy that we loved. He wasn't particularly good at his job when he was here. I'll give you the clue that'll push it over the edge.

[D]

Is it a player?

[C]

No, it's not a player. It's a coach. And he loved his beer.

[D]

He loved his beer. Are you sure it was beer?

[C]

Yes, positive. Was beer. Because I sent him craft beer.

[D]

You sent him craft beer? Who?

[C]

John Fox.

[D]

Okay. What's he doing?

[C]

He's back with the Buffalo Bills.

[D]

Oh, good.

[C]

Is it with him? Joe Brady. Right? Joe Brady in Buffalo. He's a Foxy. He's a senior assistant.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

In Buffalo.

[D]

So that's like a couple of phone calls. He's got a nice paycheck. He's got. Probably got some insurance.

[C]

Probably has a desk.

[D]

No, I bet he doesn't.

[C]

I bet he's not even.

[D]

I bet he's not in the building.

[C]

I don't know if he goes to the building, but he has a desk. Maybe find you an office if you need one. Yes.

[D]

I just know if you give him a stool, be careful.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

It might come flying at your head.

[C]

But there was, depending on how much.

[D]

Of the craft beer he's had.

[C]

That's what I said to you earlier today when we were chatting before the shows. And I said, oh, I wrote Senior ass Butthole. But what it was was, John Fox, Senior ass Buffalo. And what I read in my handwriting was senior ass Butthole.

[D]

Now that's a job title. I want those cards printed up.

[C]

What's your job here? I'm the senior ass butthole.

[D]

Well, congratulations. You've been promoted from junior ass butthole. Yes, I know it was a long time ago, but I put a lot of work in. So. You ass Buffalo.

[C]

Yes, it's senior ass Buffalo. But what I read When I was talking to you was senior ass butthole. Yeah.

[D]

And knowing this show, it's not out of the realm of possibility that you could have written that down.

[C]

Yes, it's very possible. And who knows what we're talking about, but it certainly is possible.

[D]

Unless we're talking about the Dutch speed skating team.

[C]

Yes. Which you were rooting for.

[D]

Here comes cock around the corner. Yes.

[C]

And then I have keeping an eye on draft stuff too. NFL.com, dan Parr had his first round draft. Yeah. And he had a player. I don't know if you're familiar with this name from Toledo, but Emmanuel McNeil Warren. Yeah. He got Toledo ticket.

[D]

I got Toledo ticket. Emmanuel McNeil Warren. I got nothing.

[C]

Yeah. So he's a senior safety out of Toledo and Daniel Jeremiah has him down as a potential pro bowl player.

[D]

All right.

[C]

That eventually will land as a plus starter. 63202. So I wanted to take a look at Matt Bowen, see if Matt Bowen had any, any thoughts on his social media about Emmanuel McNeil Warren. And he certainly did. So he's got videos here on his X account on Toledo's Emanuel McNeil Warren. 6 foot 2, 202, long frame on the ball production strikes on contact, explosive forward ability, split field range. Physical in the run front and then has //cover3fit.

[D]

Here is what Lance Zerline says. Tall, long limbed, rangy, adequate eye balance and anticipation triggers with long ground gaining strides. Strikes on pass catchers size and toughness to bolster run defense. Slips, blocks, slithers through traffic. Uses expansive tackle radius to run and capture in space. Peanut punched his way to nine career forced fumbles. However, the weaknesses, excessive bouncing and movement during run diagnosis. Needs to settle feet sooner to prevent open field misses.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

Downhill dives open him to loss of containment against the run. Not a versatile coverage piece on the back end. Inefficient footwork when covering in space.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

Will struggle staying connected to vertical speed.

[C]

All right. Well, speed thing you can't teach. But the footwork stuff, that doesn't concern me. You can teach all that?

[D]

He says he might be pigeonholed schematically, but he's good at his job.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

They say he will eventually be a plus starter.

[C]

Yeah. Does that. Well, I guess. I guess a 25 in the first.

[D]

Round, that seems a little high.

[C]

I think so. I would prefer some of the defensive linemen we've talked about have heard about that. That seems high for. For first round. Even. Even number 25, maybe.

[D]

There's a wide range of opinions on Emmanuel McNeil Warren of Toledo.

[C]

But again.

[D]

And if he's just another name to keep.

[C]

Keep an eye on, and if he's.

[D]

That good, why isn't he transferred? Right. Why is that?

[C]

Someone said, Here's $5 million.

[D]

Right. I hate that we do this now, but it's like in college, like, if he's not good, why is he still playing college football? And with somebody like this, you think of, you know, why. Why is. Why is he a senior at Toledo? Right.

[C]

Maybe he just loved the school, loves to.

[D]

Hello, Toledo. Hello, Toledo.

[C]

Yeah, but again, I just thought another name. I love seeing all these different giraffe mock drafts coming out, so I know I'm a little. Add him to the list of Bears names.

[D]

Yeah. I'm just, I get a little overwhelmed. I know Zion Young is the, The Missouri edge rusher who we discussed. That was one of the names. We're gonna. We'll put a cloud of names together. We will. We're going to be all over this. I just, I haven't done a lot of the draft homework yet, and I'm a little. I remain a bit intimidated.

[C]

Well, it's early. It's early. We're. We'll get there. We'll get there. And what I'm thinking and, you know, I'll just, I'll share with you what, what my thought process was around the draft of. Maybe we could, we could talk about this, too, obviously, in more detail, but maybe doing like a. A panel. Having a panel conversation around. Around the NFL draft with some of our guys. I thought that. I think that that might be a fun opportunity to get multiple opinions going through at one time instead of us trying to regurgitate what people think or say about it, too.

[D]

I'm in. I know, I know that there's a lot. There's going to be a lot of programming related to the draft, so we're going to need all the opinions we can get, but sure, I'm open to a summit.

[C]

What would you think of even bringing, you know, how, like our friends at Score north, they. They bring Vikings fans on on Fridays and, you know, they get the. They actually get the pop on screen. They get to ask their question, say, their comment. What if we were to do that with listeners and have people come on.

[D]

With their names, their own names or names of people that they want to draft?

[C]

Names of people that are eligible in the draft, not their own names.

[D]

Okay. Yeah.

[C]

I could see us being like, all right, Dan. I'm going to bring in Bob from the south side. Bob. Hey, Bob.

[D]

My name is Bob. I got a name for you, Bob. Yeah, Bob. Bob Spack from back of the yards, local 205. Yeah, I would do that, but as the culmination of something I wouldn't like do it like calls. But if they somehow earned the right to do that by passing a series of tests of strength.

[C]

I don't know. Oh, no. I mean, there's like financial tests and there's like, you know, real estate tests.

[D]

Yeah, like. Like bank stress tests.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

You see what their liquid assets are.

[C]

You can't just get on this show just willy nilly.

[D]

No. Oh, no, no, no. He's not coming on.

[C]

No willy nilly.

[D]

Oh, he's trouble. Yeah.

[C]

Marty Gras also been. He's been banned and so is Milestone.

[D]

You banned Marty already?

[C]

Oh, God, yeah.

[D]

Oh, Marty, what'd you do? What'd you do to get on Maddie's bad side?

[C]

He's right here with the rowdies.

[D]

He used the ban hammer on him.

[C]

All the rowdy over tonight.

[D]

All my rowdy friends are coming over. That's a lot of rowdies coming over there. Hank, buddy, my man. Okay, well, that's going to do it. For forward progress, a Chicago Bears and NFL podcast here on 312 Sports for progress has stopped Ted. 219. 219.

[C]

Forward progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and mattabeticola on 312 sports.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the name your price tool from progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates pricing coverage match limited by state law. Not available in all states.