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Kelly knew Chicago Bears' Barkley could be NFL QB

Back when San Francisco 49ers coach Chip Kelly was in his first year as the Eagles' boss in 2013, Philadelphia used its fourth-round pick on quarterback Matt Barkley.

Sunday at Soldier Field, Barkley is expected to start his second straight game for the Chicago Bears against Kelly's San Francisco 49ers.

They knew each other from competing in the Pac-12, Barkley for USC and Kelly as Oregon's head coach. But Barkley operated a pro-style offense. He wasn't sure how he would fit in Kelly's unique, rapid-fire offense, which is innovative or one-dimensional, depending on whom you ask.

"I wasn't too sure what he was thinking when I got drafted," Barkley said. "I knew he had seen me play, and I had put up good games my junior and senior year. So I knew he saw something in me. But I wasn't too sure about the offense."

Barkley had more than "good" games against the Ducks. In those two games he completed 61 of 88 passes (69.3 percent) for 807 yards, 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

"He's one of the most prolific quarterback to ever play in the Pac-12," Kelly said. "The numbers he put up at USC speak for themselves, so we felt we were getting a really talented quarterback."

But as a rookie in 2013, Barkley was buried on the depth chart behind Nick Foles, who had a career year, and Mike Vick.

The next year Foles went down after eight games, and veteran Mark Sanchez took over, while Barkley threw 1 pass. In 2015, the Eagles traded for Sam Bradford and kept Sanchez, leaving Barkley still No. 3 heading into the 2015 season.

"The organization's decision was that we could get something for our third quarterback," Kelly said. "But Matt was really talented, and I knew Matt would be a really good player in this league." Odd, considering they only got a seventh-round draft choice in return from the Arizona Cardinals, where Barkley was behind Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton for a year before he was waived.

Two days later, on Sept. 5, he was signed to the Bears' practice squad.

Now Brian Hoyer's season-ending fractured arm and Jay Cutler's partially torn labrum have catapulted Barkley into a starting job. A long wait, but not a waste in Barkley's opinion.

"I don't like to look at it as difficult," he said. "More so just a time to grow and to learn as an NFL quarterback. Got the chance to learn Chip's offense, a new offense, that I now have in my back pocket as just more knowledge as a quarterback.

"(I got) to learn from guys like Carson and to be with Nick Foles, just guys who helped me grow as a player. So I'm not complaining that now is the time. Just soaking it up."

In Barkley's first NFL start Sunday, he overcame 2 interceptions and his ham-handed receivers to finish with 3 touchdown passes and 316 passing yards to nearly rally his team from a 20-point deficit.

His biggest take-away?

"That we're capable of moving the ball down the field and scoring points," he said. "The biggest thing is to not beat ourselves.

"If we focus on what we're capable of and what we're doing and keep moving the ball and keep moving the chains, we can put points on the board."

Depending on how long and how well his late-season audition goes, Barkley has the chance to prove that he's much more than a No. 3 quarterback.

Maybe even a franchise quarterback?

"No question," Kelly said. "I don't know what 'franchise quarterback' means. But I know Matt can be a quarterback in the National Football League. That's why we drafted him."

• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere.

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