Marcus Mariota to the Bears? One NFL exec thinks so

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Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is one of the first names mentioned when the Bears' offseason quest for quarterback competition comes up. The former second overall pick of the 2015 NFL draft profiles as an ideal signing for GM Ryan Pace, who's searching for a player with franchise-quarterback upside who doesn't pose an immediate threat to Mitch Trubisky's starting job.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, one NFL executive thinks Mariota to the Bears makes total sense.

"I could see Chicago [for Mariota]," the exec said. "Ryan Pace wants to stick with Mitch [Trubisky], and this way Mariota can start games but isn't a total replacement, leaving room for Trubisky to regain his confidence and play well."

It wasn't long ago that Pace had quite the affinity for Mariota. He liked him so much as a draft prospect in 2015 that reports surfaced of his attempt to trade up with the Titans to select him. Unlike some talent evaluators, Pace wasn't concerned about the wide-open offense Mariota played in under former Bears offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich.

"I think you have to watch a lot of tape on those guys to feel good with it,” Pace said at the NFL annual meetings in March 2015. “And we’ve done enough research on him that I think he’s a good quarterback. That [system] doesn’t scare me away from it at all.”

The Bears held the seventh overall pick that year and were dangling Jay Cutler as part of a package to move into the second pick for Mariota. Their offer was declined, but here we are, five seasons later, and Pace may get his guy after all.

Remember: Mariota was the first quarterback Pace fell for as a general manager. He was his first draft crush, even before Trubisky. And with Trubisky on shaky ground (at best), maybe Pace will fall back on his first instinct as a decision-maker and get the one that got away.

It's hard to predict what kind of payday Mariota will command on the open market. There's a chance he follows the example set by his teammate, Ryan Tannehill, and goes all-in on a one-year discount deal in an effort to reset his value in 2021. 

Mariota will enter unrestricted free agency following his worst season as a pro. He started just six games, completed less than 60% of his passes, and simply wasn't an effective playmaker under center. His shortcomings were exposed by Tannehill, who immediately flipped the Titans' offense into one of the better overall units in the league down the stretch.

Still, Mariota and the Bears just feels right. If Pace had his way in 2015, Mariota would've already been in Chicago and who knows how his career would've unfolded. 

A summer quarterback competition between Trubisky and Mariota is trending as a safe bet. But even if Mariota signs elsewhere, it's on Pace to make sure a summer quarterback competition takes place, period.

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