National Football League

Bears owner confirms 'stealth' Tom Brady pursuit in 2020: 'It didn't work out for us'

Published Oct. 10, 2024 7:10 p.m. ET

Tom Brady wrote the last chapter of his 23-year NFL career when he left the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. It ultimately worked out for Brady, who won his record seventh Super Bowl in his first season in Tampa Bay.

Brady was not thought to have many free agency suitors at the time, but while on the broadcast of the Buccaneers' Week 4 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, the new FOX Sports lead NFL analyst revealed that the Chicago Bears also waged a "very stealth" recruitment of him during the future Hall of Famer's free agency nearly five years ago.

Sure enough, Bears chairman George McCaskey recently confirmed that the Bears did have interest in Brady in 2020.

"Well, that seems like ancient history at this point. I do remember we were interested in pursuing him. It didn't work out for us," McCaskey said, according to ESPN. "Worked out great for him in Tampa. … 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."

Brady doesn't regret his choice to sign in Tampa Bay instead of Chicago, especially after the aforementioned Super Bowl win and three consecuitive playoff appearances before he retired for good after the 2022 season.

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As for the Bears, they stuck with 2017 first-round draft pick Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback in 2020 but added veteran Nick Foles to the quarterback room, with the two each making a considerable number of starts. Following the 2020 season, Chicago signed veteran Andy Dalton and traded up to select quarterback Justin Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft. Fields was the Bears' primary starter through 2023 before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers last offseason to clear the way for Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

At present, the Bears are 3-2 with Williams under center, keeping pace in a competitive NFC North. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, have remained a playoff-caliber team after Brady's departure, winning a third consecutive NFC South title last season with Baker Mayfield as their starting quarterback.

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