Silvy: Time to end the Bears’ quarterback carousel

And here we are again.

The end of another Bears quarterback “era.”

In Chicago, we don’t really have QB eras, they’re more like moments.

Justin Fields certainly had moments.

He slid head first in celebration during a monsoon against the 49ers. He threw a dime to Dante Pettis, got rocked, and did a push up to show he was OK against the Commanders. He rushed for 325 yards combined in back to back games in 2022 on his way to 1,143 for the season.

He threw for eight touchdowns in a five day span against Denver and Washington in October. He played his most complete performance as a Bear in this season’s penultimate game against Atlanta. And he is an unquestioned leader inside the locker room.

The fact also remains, Fields is also the 23rd-rated quarterback in the NFL based on QBR.

He holds the ball too long, doesn’t process what he sees fast enough, and doesn’t always keep his eyes down field when a play breaks down.

Plus, the Bears are in a unique position with the No. 1 overall pick that was gifted to them.

This isn’t to relitigate the Fields case yet again, it’s just to recap how we got here. While Fields is far from perfect, he didn’t fail.

He’d still be the Bears quarterback if not for the opportunity to draft Caleb Williams. But like so many quarterbacks in their history, the Bears failed Fields.

From the moment he was drafted with a general manager and coach on the hot seat, Fields had an uphill climb. Matt Nagy wasn’t interested in getting Fields reps early, he was busy trying to get as many wins as possible with an over-the-hill Andy Dalton. Of course, that resulted in very few wins.

Once Dalton went down, Nagy had no game plan for Fields and fed him to the wolves. It was doomed from the start.

In his second season, the Bears stunk on purpose to reset their roster while Fields had to learn another new offense.

Now it’s up to Ryan Poles to figure out why the Bears quarterback carousel has spun out of control much like the Cubs World Series drought before 2016.

Jim McMahon won a Super Bowl with the Bears but did you know he never threw for more than 2,400 yards and 15 touchdowns in a single season? His personality made him a star, but his production did not.

This is what it’s looked like with Bears’ starting quarterbacks since McMahon left.

Mike Tomczak, Jim Harbaugh, Peter Tom Willis, Will Furrer, Steve Walsh, Erik Kramer, Dave Krieg, Rick Mirer, Steve Stenstrom, Moses Moreno, Cade McNown, Shane Matthews, Jim Miller, Chris Chandler, Henry Burris, Kordell Stewart, Chad Hutchinson, Craig Krenzel, Jonathan Quinn, Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, Jay Cutler, Todd Collins, Caleb Hanie, Josh McCown, Jason Campbell, Jimmy Clausen, Matt Barkley, Brian Hoyer, Mike Glennon, Mitchell Trubisky, Chase Daniel, Nike Foles, Dalton and Fields.

Please make it stop.

Some of those names were backups pressed into action, but many were supposed to be long-term answers.

McMahon and Trubisky are the only two to make a pro bowl, although Trubisky was an injury replacement.

Some failed because the Bears evaluated them poorly and just weren’t good. Some failed because the Bears failed to develop and surround them properly. Some failed because they didn’t produce up to their potential. And others failed because of a combination of everything.

Back to my Cubs analogy.

As a die-hard Cubs fan, we wondered how a team could go over a century without winning a championship. It wasn’t a coincidence. Was is ownership? Was it too much day baseball? Was it a curse? A few teams got close, but none would ultimately break through. Same with Bears QBs.

Jay Cutler is the 2003 Cubs of quarterbacks.

The closest to breaking through. And like the Cubs in ‘03, the weird controversial 2011 NFC championship will always be debated. If Cutler doesn’t get hurt, are the Bears facing the Steelers in that year’s Super Bowl? Would Cutler ultimately become a champion?

Rex Grossman is the 1989 Cubs of quarterbacks.

The year of Mitch Williams. Wild thing. Williams would load the bases and then strike out the side.

There was good Rex and bad Rex. Sexy Rexy took the Bears to a Super Bowl, and just like Williams, he was gone soon after.

Jim McMahon can either be the 1969 or 1984 of quarterbacks. Beloved. Sure he won a Super Bowl, but he never truly lived up to what he was supposed to be just like how neither of these Cubs teams finished the job.

It’s a silly exercise I can play out and tell you why Trubisky is the ‘07 and ‘08 of quarterbacks or why Jim Miller is the 1998 of quarterbacks.

Another parallel I see is the mentality of the fan base. Whenever the Cubs used to get into the playoffs, many fans were conditioned to think how the Cubs would choke. I’m hearing the same thing as the Bears get set to bring in a new QB. Many fans shrug and ask, “what’s the point? They’re just going to screw this up anyway.”

This is where Poles, Matt Eberflus and the rest of the Bears staff have to be on the same page once their new quarterback enters the building. They must do everything possible to break the cycle of quarterback failure. Poles must do a deep dive and figure out the common denominator of why a team that has been around for 104 years has not had a modern day superstar at the most important position in sports.

The next guy, most likely Caleb Williams, cannot be asked to do it all by himself.

I was at the NFL combine last week and was fortunate enough to have a one-on-one meeting with Williams. I came away impressed and believe he will handle the pressure of Chicago just fine.

But there is no QB savior. This must be a collaborative effort.

If the Bears don’t figure that out, the carousel will continue to spin out of control once again.

Please make it stop.

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.