Courting QB's

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Mar 4, 2005 5:15PM

Having given up on Jonathan Quinn and Jeff George, the Bears begin their auditions for a backup quarterback today with Kurt Warner's visit to Halas Hall. The former leage and Super Bowl MVP spent last season with the New York Giants, where he lost the starting job to rookie Eli Manning mid-season.

Warner explained the other day, in Arizona:

You always want to sign as a starter. I still believe I can be a starter and play at an extremely high level. But at the same time, you understand there are a lot of teams in a situation where they have drafted a young guy, and in every case it's a young guy they want to succeed.

That's exactly the situation Warner would face with the Bears, as the team contends that Rex Grossman is the #1 QB and the future of the position at Soldier Field.

Warner met with the Arizona Cardinals, where he would face few hurdles to become the starter but would be joining a joke of a franchise. Following his Bears meeting, he's meeting with the Detroit Lions -- who still consider Joey Harrington to be their starter.

Just as Warner is exploring his options, so too are the Bears. Next week, they plan to meet with former Tampa Bay QB Brad Johnson and former Dolphins QB Jay Fiedler.

Chicagoist thinks that if they Bears are really committed to Grossman as the QB of the future, then they bypass Warner. We think he's still got something left and should at least have a chance to start in the NFL again. Jay Fielder--who has started a majority of Miami's games over the past 5 seasons--would make a very competant backup but doesn't have that former MVP aura to intimidate Grossman. But with little salary cap room left, the Bears may be forced to take the leftovers after other teams fill thier QB needs.