What would’ve happened if Tom Brady actually played for the Chicago Bears?

Tom Brady has started the next chapter of his football life, as an announcer with Fox Sports and as a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. However, he revealed in early October that the end of his Hall of Fame playing career might have ended up in a different city than it ultimately did. All statistics are sourced from Football Reference.

Before a Week 5 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tom Brady revealed that the Chicago Bears made a hard charge for his services after it became clear he was going to leave the New England Patriots after the 2019 season.

As highlighted on Fox Sports’ website, Brady said, “Ultimately, Chicago was a team, and I never told that story before, they were very stealth in their recruitment.”

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It might be tough for Bears fans to hear this now, but Brady added, “I was seriously considering them.”

At the time, Chicago was not considered to be a major player for Brady’s services. The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website and others reported that he was most seriously considering the Los Angeles Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the latter of which he ultimately chose. The Miami Dolphins were a periphery suitor as well.

The narrative surrounding the 2018-2021 Bears teams is that they dramatically underachieved under head coach Matt Nagy. In January 2022, Sports Illustrated wrote a piece detailing why Nagy’s offense failed, highlighting the main reason as Nagy’s shortcomings himself.

Sports Illustrated wrote that “His offense had obvious flaws resulting in predictability and stagnation… Nagy tried half-heartedly to adapt his offense properly to available talent.”

Nagy’s Bears stint is talked about with utter disdain, but his record in Chicago wasn’t terrible. He actually finished with a winning record, 34-31, in four seasons. The Bears were at or above .500 in three of those four campaigns.

Of course, it’s convenient to say that plugging in the greatest quarterback of all time in Brady over the likes of Mitchell Trubisky would have gotten the Bears to the postseason more often.

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The 2020 Chicago Bears had some solid players, but no superstars by any means at the skill positions. Allen Robinson led the team in receiving that year with 102 catches, 1250 yards and six touchdowns. Darnell Mooney finished second with 61 catches, 631 yards and four touchdowns.

The running game was anchored by David Montgomery, who posted 1,070 rushing yards and eight scores on the ground. Montgomery’s perception wasn’t that high at the time, but he’s become a greatly respected player with the Detroit Lions at the present time.

Nagy is currently the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. When Brady worked the Week 7 contest between the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, he said that Nagy was a talented coach and that he thought he would get another chance to be a head coach. If Brady’s assessment is honest, that means he might have been willing to play for Nagy back in 2020.

It’s interesting to note that the other reported suitors that Tom Brady considered after his departure from the Patriots were in warm-weather cities. Chicago definitely gets bitterly cold during the winter months, and Brady might not have wanted to play in the same environment he did all those years in New England.

Of course, Brady was able to attract familiar faces to Tampa Bay when he ultimately decided to play there. Tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Antonio Brown joined the Bucs because they wanted to play with Brady. It’s a fun exercise to wonder whether that pair would have followed him to Chicago.

Saying the Bears have had terrible luck in finding a long term answer at quarterback is an understatement. ESPN and others have noted that Chicago is the only franchise in the NFL that has not had a quarterback throw for 4,000 yards in a season.

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Let us know if you think he would have won a seventh ring in Chicago, or if he would have damaged his legacy by playing in The Windy City by leaving a comment!