Jimmy Graham? Nick Foles? Analyzing the Bears’ offseason so far

The Sun-Times’ Mark Potash breaks down the Bears’ showing during the first wave of free agency:

Grade the Bears’ offseason so far:

B-. With limited salary cap space, Ryan Pace wasn’t in a position to splurge, but still upgraded a some key positions. If his intention was to push Mitch Trubisky and not replace him outright, Nick Foles is a sound acquisition. Robert Quinn is a better edge rusher than Leonard Floyd. Pace overpaid for Jimmy Graham, but Graham still is better than Adam Shaheen. The hiring of John DeFilippo as quarterbacks coach could become a key offseason upgrade.

Who is the starting quarterback for the opener?

Mitch Trubisky figures to get a chance for a re-do and pick up where he left off after the 2018 season — albeit with a short leash. Though many fans are done with Trubisky, don’t discount the possibility that, after being coddled for two years by Nagy, Trubisky responds to the challenge of Foles’ presence.

Which quarterback would’ve excited you?

As unrealistic as it was, signing Tom Brady would have ignited euphoria among Bears fans and created a buzz that would have lasted until his first interception in Week 1. From Philip Rivers on down, none of the others would have been a slam dunk to fix the Bears’ broken offense by himself.

Are the Bears better or worse than they were in January?

Besides Quinn, Foles and Graham, the Bears also figure to have a healthy Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith and Akiem Hicks whenever they start the 2020 offseason. It’s hard to deny that doesn’t make them better. But any of a number of unknowns — Trubisky, Trey Burton, the offensive line — can cancel out those improvements.

Their best move was …

Signing Trevathan. Nick Kwiatkoski is younger and likely will excel as an NFL starter, but Trevathan is playing at a peak level in this defense and is a leader on and off the field. He just has to stay healthy.

The Bears will regret …

Nothing. They never do.

What’s their biggest need?

A versatile tight end who can block and is a threat in the passing game. The Bears apparently are counting on Trey Burton to fill that role, and if Burton returns to his 2018 form, Graham might actually become a better value than he appears to be. But a healthy Burton is a huge x-factor at this point.

Do you trust GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy to turn this around?

After one promising season together in 2018 and one discouraging season in 2019, I warily trust Pace and Nagy to get the Bears back on track. They’re not incapable. They didn’t win Executive of the Year and Coach of the Year awards by accident. But they have to learn from their mistakes. They have manage the quarterback situation astutely. And Nagy has a lot to prove with regard to game-planning, play-calling and winning the chess match vs. NFL defensive coordinators.