Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes clarified the comments his father, Pat Mahomes Sr., made about the Chicago Bears and the 2017 NFL draft last week during an appearance on 670 The Score’s Parkins & Spiegel Show.
The star QB told reporters Tuesday in Arizona ahead of Super Bowl LVII:
“My dad took it a little far. So it wasn’t that I thought the Bears were gonna draft me, but I was told that if they drafted a quarterback that I would be the quarterback that they drafted.
“And that wasn’t necessarily directly from their people, but that was told to my camp that I was told. So it did surprise me a little bit, but they told me they weren’t drafting a quarterback. So that was the most surprising thing at all.
“He (Mahomes Sr.) acted like they were gonna draft me for sure in that interview, and I was like, I don’t know if it was that serious, but they did say if the quarterback was drafted, I would be the guy they drafted.”
Mahomes’ father said during that interview that Chicago informed them it would select Mahomes third overall in 2017. Instead, the Bears traded up and selected North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky with the No. 2 pick.
If the Bears had drafted Mahomes, maybe they’d be the ones gearing up for the Super Bowl instead of preparing for the 2023 draft.
Trubisky spent four disappointing seasons with Chicago. While he led the team to a postseason berth during the 2018 campaign, the Bears opted to move on early in the 2020 season.
The 28-year-old appeared in 10 games (nine starts) and led the team to a 6-3 record that year but didn’t start from Week 4 through the Week 11 bye. He completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,055 yards and 16 touchdowns against eight interceptions and was benched for Nick Foles.
Chicago declined Trubisky’s fifth-year option and he became a free agent, signing with the Buffalo Bills to become Josh Allen’s backup. He then signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers before the 2022 season and was named the team’s starter before being benched for rookie Kenny Pickett following Week 4.
Mahomes, meanwhile, will already appear in his third Super Bowl with the Chiefs and led Kansas City to the Lombardi Trophy during the 2019 season. He also has led the Chiefs to five straight AFC West titles and is a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro and was the 2018 MVP.
The Bears, meanwhile, have been uncompetitive in each of the last two seasons, going 9-25, including 3-14 in 2022.
While the Bears selected Justin Fields 11th overall in the 2021 draft and he showed promise during this campaign, he hasn’t proved he can be the team’s quarterback of the future.
Chicago has the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, and it’s worth watching what it does with the selection.
