Bears bid adieu to Quinn, George

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Bears bid adieu to Quinn, George
By Terry Bannon
Tribune staff reporter

February 23, 2005


Fair or not, Jonathan Quinn and Jeff George will be remembered as part of the Bears' quarterback debacle of 2004.

Neither will be back in 2005.

The Bears cut Quinn Tuesday and sources confirmed they will not re-sign George.

Quinn came up short in his chance to show he could be a solid backup quarterback. The season's 1-2 start grew to a 5-11 finish as Quinn lost all three of his starts after Rex Grossman's season-ending knee injury in the third game.

Quinn's failure contributed to the late-season signing of George, who hadn't played in a game since 2001 and never got into one with the Bears.

Cutting ties with Quinn, who turns 30 Sunday, and George, 37, makes it clear to veteran quarterbacks that there's a job opening in Chicago.

Free agency begins March 2 and the Bears are in the market for someone to compete with Grossman, who has played in six games in two seasons.

"We plan to sign a quarterback with starting experience," general manager Jerry Angelo said. "We don't plan to be quick out of the box. We'll see how things play out."

Former Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner, who is leaving the New York Giants, is the most interesting name available. The Bears passed on Warner last season when Grossman was set as the starter and Warner wanted a chance to compete.

Now it may be the Bears' good fortune that there are some experienced quarterbacks available, such as Jeff Garcia, Warner, Jeff Blake, Vinny Testaverde and possibly either Brad Johnson or Brian Griese of Tampa Bay. Cleveland backup Kelly Holcombe also is scheduled to be a free agent, but he may stay now that Garcia is gone.

As the Bears prepare for coach Lovie Smith's second season with new offensive coordinator Ron Turner, Grossman, Chad Hutchinson and Craig Krenzel are their experienced quarterbacks. With the commitment to bring in a veteran, there wasn't room for George.

The Bears also have sent Ryan Dinwiddie and Kurt Kittner to NFL Europe, where they will try to earn an invitation to training camp. The Bears are expected to take four quarterbacks to Bourbonnais.

The Bears signed Quinn as a free agent last winter to be the No. 2 quarterback and help install the offense new coordinator Terry Shea brought with him from the Chiefs.

Shea was fired after one season in which injuries forced the Bears to start 10 offensive linemen and four quarterbacks. In the end, they finished 32nd and last in the NFL in total yards, passing yards, first downs, points, sacks allowed and third-down efficiency.

The offense also went into the season without a No. 1 wide receiver after Marty Booker was dealt to Miami for defensive end Adewale Ogunleye.

The Bears lost all five games in which Quinn played, including three starts. He completed 52 percent of his passes with only one touchdown and three interceptions. He was sacked 15 times in 113 pass plays.

Quinn, who had been the Chiefs' third-stringer, became the starter at the end of the third game of the season when Grossman injured his knee at Minnesota scoring a touchdown that cut the Bears' deficit to 27-22.

With a chance to lead the Bears on a game-winning drive in the final minute, Quinn threw three incompletions.

Quinn started the next three games as the Bears lost to Philadelphia, Washington and Tampa Bay, after which Smith turned to rookie Krenzel for the next five starts. A season-ending ankle injury to Krenzel led to Hutchinson starting the final five games.

The 13-10 loss to the Redskins at Soldier Field on Oct. 17 was Quinn's undoing. Although Washington came in with one of the NFL's best defenses, its offense was holding it back. But Quinn was wildly erratic, completing only 10 of 22 passes with one interception. The longest gain was 16 yards.

On Thanksgiving Day at Dallas, Quinn got what turned out to be his last chance when Krenzel left with a high ankle sprain. Quinn came in and completed only 10 of 21 for 86 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. His single-game passer rating of 19.2 was his worst of the season. Four days later, the Bears signed George.

The following week, Hutchinson got his first start and led the Bears to a 24-14 victory over Minnesota at Soldier Field. Quinn was the backup..

Quinn spent the last four games in the same role he had occupied in Kansas City the previous two seasons—as the inactive No. 3 quarterback.

In the end, the Bears asked Quinn to do something he couldn't do—be a starting quarterback. And Shea, who vouched that he at least could be a competent backup, has returned to his previous job as quarterbacks coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.

"It just didn't work," Angelo said. "And we go on from there."

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