Thomas Brown says the obvious part out loud when it comes to the Bears shutting down any starters for the remainder of the season
The 2024 season has been a lost season for the Chicago Bears, long before the team was officially eliminated from playoff contention in Week 15.The season began with high hopes going into the year and after a 4-2 start to the season. Since that point, the Bears have lost nine consecutive games and fired two […]
The 2024 season has been a lost season for the Chicago Bears, long before the team was officially eliminated from playoff contention in Week 15.
The season began with high hopes going into the year and after a 4-2 start to the season. Since that point, the Bears have lost nine consecutive games and fired two different coaches from the staff.
Coming off three straight blowout losses where the team had no energy to start any of those games, you can tell the majority of the locker room is ready to put the rest of the season behind them with two games left to be played.
While a lot of people want the Bears to throw in the towel and put in some of the backups for the rest of the season, interim head coach Thomas Brown isn't giving up.
"The thought process is, regardless of how the season has going or what your record is, the goal is to try to put the best product on the field," Brown explained on Monday. "Whether they're 1st year, 2nd year, 5th year, or Keenan [Allen] in his 12th year, if they give us the best shot to go play football well and go win games, we gotta give them that opportunity. I think less about trying to figure out how to look at guys for the unforeseen future and it's more about what gives us the best opportunity right now."
If that sounds like a narrow-minded approach to the final two games of the season, that's because it is. Just like a lot of the players on the roster, Brown's future in Chicago is uncertain once this season comes to a close.
Since taking over as the team's interim head coach, every practice and every game has been an audition for Brown for the full time head coach role with the Bears. Brown isn't going to purposefully trot out lesser talent that would put this team in position to finish the year on an 11-game losing streak when a head coaching role is at stake.
Brown is doing right by himself, the organization and all the players in the building by going out every game with the intention of finding a way to win. Because, spoiler alert, nearly every coach or player in the NFL won't attempt to intentionally tank games at the end of a year.
That's not something the Bears plan to do over the final two games. But, I get where some fans are coming from when it comes to certain players.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, for example, has been beat down all season long and sacked more than any quarterback in the league. In the team's next game against the Seattle Seahawks, Williams will already be without his starting left tackle and potentially his starting left guard in a game that means nothing in the long run.
Playing backup quarterback Tyson Bagent in his place helps keep your franchise quarterback safe but, on the flip side, it also takes away learning opportunities he still needs to experience on the field like being forced to play without two starting offensive linemen.
"Having those two guys go down, you don't have as many reps with a couple of the other guys," Williams said on Monday. "In a way, you don't lose the connection but it is a little different."
Experiencing that "little difference" is something Williams can go through now and learn from, before he inevitably goes through it again later in his career with the Bears in a more critical situation during a future season.
But, that's just for Williams. For some of the younger players such as third-round rookie offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie and fifth-round rookie defensive end Austin Booker, yeah, you'd like to see them get more involved over the final two games.
But, Brown's not going with that approach and instead is keeping his more experienced and better options out there. Again, from his standpoint you can see why, but in terms of developing the youth on the team, it's not the move you'd like to see.
And for those worried about the team's potential draft pick changing in the 2025 NFL Draft, fret not. Following the Dallas Cowboys' win on Sunday Night Football, the worst the team could pick is 10th overall if the Bears win out. Right now, the team has the 9th overall pick with the potential to have at best the 7th overall selection.
