Chicago Bears Q&A: If you had to bet, does Ryan Pace get Justin Fields or Trey Lance? Would George McCaskey let him deal future picks? Is there a scenario in which Jimmy Garoppolo ends up in Chicago?

Everyone’s faith in Pace’s ability to stock the quarterback position has been shaken by the selection of Mitch Trubisky with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft, and that miss is hugely magnified by the success enjoyed by Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, the two quarterbacks selected after Trubisky. In another draft class, without superstar quarterbacks to measure Trubisky against, his shortcomings wouldn’t look quite as bad. That’s not a defense of Trubisky but the reality of the class he was in and the way the quarterbacks drafted after him have performed. Trading for Nick Foles last year, a move no doubt motivated by the coaching staff, didn’t do anything to settle the position, and that’s why the Bears were forced to venture into free agency for Andy Dalton. It really doesn’t matter how the masses feel about Pace and his ability to identify quarterbacks. George McCaskey has empowered him, so the ball is in his court. He does have different voices around him on the coaching staff than when the team chose Trubisky. The Bears have reached the postseason two of the last three years, although that argument certainly takes a hit when you look at how last season went and the fact the Bears backed in at 8-8 as the seventh seed in the first year of an expanded playoff field.