Tom Brady Considered Signing Bears Contract Before Bucs Deal, Dan Patrick Says

The Chicago Bears were apparently working on what would've been a big upgrade over Mitchell Trubisky this offseason.

Dan Patrick reported Thursday on his radio show that the Bears were in the running to land Tom Brady before he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (h/t NBC Sports Chicago's Michael Allardyce).

"Did you know that the Bears were in the final list of teams for Tom Brady?" Patrick said. "The final list that Brady was looking at: the Chargers, the Bears and the Buccaneers. I was told this yesterday. I said, 'Wait a minute. The Bears?' [The source] told me yes."

Location was apparently one factor working in the Bears' favor since Brady could more easily travel from Chicago to New York City to visit the 13-year-old son he shares with actress Bridget Moynahan.

While this represents firm reporting linking the future Hall of Famer to the Windy City, the idea emerged early in the offseason. ESPN's Bill Barnwell posited a scenario in which the Bears signed Brady to a four-year, $110 million contract.

Chicago went 12-4 and looked like a serious Super Bowl contender in 2018 before posting a disappointing 8-8 record in 2019. The step backward wasn't solely down to Trubisky, but it became clear the 2017 No. 2 overall draft pick needed to improve or else the team would have to add another quarterback to reignite its championship quest.

The Bears struck out with Brady, who signed with Tampa on March 20, and had to pivot to acquiring Nick Foles from the Jacksonville Jaguars on March 31. Foles gives them something they lacked last year since going from Trubisky to Chase Daniel a season ago was a lateral move at best. The undrafted free agent  started one of the four games in which the 33-year-old appeared for Chicago.

Trubisky remains the guy for the time being after head coach Matt Nagy confirmed the 2017 first-round pick will open as the starter.