Crazy for Brady? Bears owner admits pursuing QB in 2020

Bears owner George McCaskey confirmed the franchise made a run at signing then-free agent quarterback Tom Brady in March 2020.

Brady left the Patriots to hit the open market for the first time and previously referenced multiple suitors without directly disclosing any teams that finished as runners up to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Now retired and working for FOX as a color analyst, Brady said during a live broadcast of the Buccaneers and Eagles in Week 4 that the Bears ran a "stealth recruitment" with Mitchell Trubisky under contract.

"That seems like ancient history at this point," McCaskey said Thursday as Chicago prepares to play the Jacksonville Jaguars in England.

"Anytime you're in a situation like that you're not putting all of your eggs in one basket. You're looking at alternatives. It's the same in free agency, it's the same in the draft. If the person you're targeting isn't available, you want to make sure that you've done your due diligence on all other options. So that was one option that we were looking at."

The Bears kept Trubisky, the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft, and made a trade with the Jaguars to add backup quarterback Nick Foles.

McCaskey said he didn't have direct involvement with Brady and didn't disclose any behind-the-scenes knowledge of what might have been classified as stealth recruitment.

"I do remember we were interested in pursuing him. It didn't work out for us. Worked out great for him in Tampa," McCaskey said.

Brady won his record seventh Super Bowl in his first season with the Buccaneers.

The Bears started over at quarterback in 2021, trading up to draft Ohio State's Justin Fields 11th overall. They're amid another reset, drafting Caleb Williams with the top pick in April and trading Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I think it's gone very well," McCaskey said of Williams' first five NFL games, which produced a 3-2 record. "We wanted to have a structure in place for him to succeed, and a lot of that was protecting him from the inevitable distractions when you're the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears."

The Bears are not known for a rich history at the position. In 2018, Trubisky was the first Bears quarterback to earn a Pro Bowl selection since their last Super Bowl-winning QB -- Jim McMahon in 1985. The franchise hasn't had a first-team All-Pro quarterback since the AFL-NFL merger. The last Bears' quarterback named All-Pro was Johnny Lujack in 1950. He went 9-3 that season with four touchdown passes and 21 interceptions, dabbling in kicking and recording one interception while playing some defensive back.

Chicago's single-season passing records belong to Erik Kramer, who set the franchise marks with 3,838 yards and 29 touchdowns in 1995.

--Field Level Media