The Chicago Bears clearly need to find a long-term answer at the quarterback position, so it’s not surprising trading for Jimmy Garoppolo is a top priority. However, a secondary target to take over at the quarterback position in Chicago if landing Garoppolo proves too costly is reportedly free agent Mike Glennon, who has been with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the past four seasons.
“As for Glennon, he is clearly poised at the top of a very shallow starting quarterback free agent market and several GMs around the league believe Chicago has the strongest current interest in him and will emerge as the front-runner to land him coming out of the combine,” wrote Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. “The Bears love Jimmy Garoppolo but that requires parting with multiple significant assets and they seem convinced Glennon can do the job.”
Originally a third-round pick by the Bucs out of North Carolina State, Glennon was pretty darn impressive as a rookie, starting 13 games. He completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 2,608 yards with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Unfortunately for him, Lovie Smith benched Glennon heading into 2014 in favor of veteran Josh McCown. He got his chance to play again when McCown suffered a thumb injury but started just five games, going 1-4 before Smith benched him again.
Then the Bucs drafted Jameis Winston in 2015, and Glennon has been a clipboard holder ever since.
It’s hard to know exactly how well Glennon will fare after so much time on the sideline. Given an entire offseason and training camp to prepare as a starter, it stands to reason he might fare quite well, given a solid supporting cast. The Bears have running back Jordan Howard, who was a stud as a rookie, and they feature a talented young receiver in Cameron Meredith.
Glennon could be a good fit, though at this point he’s leading the weak free agency class by default.