[OC] Draft Scratchers- Part III: Rick Mirer Trade (QB, Chicago, 1997)

I want to make something very clear before anyone reads this post. This is NOT about the Seattle Seahawks taking Rick Mirer. I’ll get into it a bit later, but I don’t think anyone was scratching their head when the Seahawks took him. They thought it was a pretty good pick. This is about the Chicago Bears and Rick Mirer. With that being said, let’s start the post.

Teams will go to great lengths to find their franchise quarterback. Once you find a franchise quarterback, your championship window begins (or, if you’re a lucky team like the Green Bay Packers, expands). Some teams will just have their franchise QB fall into their laps. Some teams will get a late round steal. Some teams will trade up, even giving up the farm to get their quarterback. And some teams will even offer an ownership stake to get their quarterback.

The point is, teams will do anything to find their franchise quarterback. And most of the time, your franchise quarterback is one of two players. The first (the rarer type) is the proven commodity. This is the franchise QB that hits free agency that you know is going to be good. The second and more common type is the draft pick. This is the unknown player, but you’ve got a pretty good idea on how good he’ll be. Screw what some scouts have to say, and throw out all of the buzzwords like “raw” and “upside”, because you’ve got a good feeling about him.

When you’re going after a franchise quarterback, it’s either an unknown player (through the draft) or a proven good player (through free agency). But the Chicago Bears did something unthinkable to find their franchise quarterback in 1997. They gave up a lot for a proven bad player.

On this week’s edition of Draft Scratchers, we’re looking at a bit of a different thing. This is the series where I analyze the picks that make you go hmmm and make you scratch your head (and no, I will never stop plugging in that C + C Music Factory song into the opening, because it’s a good song). This isn’t necessarily a pick that did that, but because the Bears gave up a first round pick to do it and it was widely questioned, I’m counting it.

What were the Bears thinking when they gave up a first round pick to acquire Rick Mirer?

Part I: Sluggish in Seattle

Again, I’m not criticizing Seattle for taking Rick Mirer, even though he was a bust. Everyone knew that Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer were going to be the first 2 picks in the 1993 NFL Draft; the question was who would go where. Seattle’s defense was actually decent in 1992, as they allowed 4.6 yards per play (the fourth best total in the NFL, only behind New Orleans, Minnesota, and Dallas). Even though their defense was 17th in points allowed, they were spending so much time on the field that I consider this stat to be pretty irrelevant.

Why? Because Seattle’s offense in 1992 may have been the worst offense in the history of the NFL.

The 1992 Seattle Seahawks were a complete joke on offense. They scored 140 points on the entire season, which averages out to 8.8 points per game. For comparison, the worst team in the NFC on offense that year was the Phoenix Cardinals, who scored 243 points (more than 100 points than Seattle scored). The Seahawks had just 13 touchdowns on offense that entire season, and their starting quarterback, Stan Gelbaugh, threw 6 touchdowns in 10 games alongside 11 interceptions.

In week 6 against the Dallas Cowboys, they lost 27-0. They followed that up in week 7 with a 19-0 shutout loss to the Los Angeles Raiders. Their highest point total of the season was 17. They were held to 3 points or less 5 times that season. In the first 11 weeks of the season, they scored more than 10 points just once, and that came in a 19-17 loss to the San Diego Chargers. Point is, they were bad on offense. They needed a quarterback. They had the second pick and would essentially get whoever the Patriots didn’t pick.

In the end, the draft went exactly as expected. The Patriots chose Drew Bledsoe out of Washington State, and the Seahawks chose Rick Mirer out of Notre Dame. Again, I’m not criticizing this pick. There was only one other quarterback that went in the top 4 rounds that year (Billy Joe Hobert to the Raiders in the third round out of Washington with pick #58), and the Seahawks needed to find their guy. This series is about picks that never looked good, not about picks that are only bad in hindsight.

Anyways, Mirer was drafted by the Seahawks to turn around their fortunes. They hadn’t made the playoffs since 1988, and hadn’t won a playoff game since they won in the wild card round against the Raiders in 1984. Mirer’s time in Seattle got off to an interesting start, where his rookie contract got voided for “football reasons.” The salary cap was a relatively new concept at the time, and the Seahawks were trying to circumvent it by giving Mirer a small salary with a bunch of bonuses for 59 things which didn’t even involve Mirer to play a down, including a bonus if they finished with more than 2 wins.

If you want a mini synopsis of Mirer’s career, here’s a quick 2-minute video from ESPN Classic (apologies for the poor quality in advance). Turns out, the pick was a pretty good one at first. In 1993, he finished with 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. It wasn’t great, but considering how bad Seattle’s offensive line was (he got sacked 47 times that season, which was the most in the NFL) and how bad Seattle’s offense was when he got there, it was decent at the very least. He was just the third rookie quarterback since the merger at the time to start every game, and was runner-up in Offensive Rookie of the Year behind eventual Hall of Fame player Jerome Bettis.

But after 1993, everything began to spiral downward. He was decent in 1993 for a rookie, but that’s under the expectation that things will get better. Unfortunately for him and for the Seahawks, they never did. In 1994, he only threw 11 touchdowns and completed just 51.2% of his passes. In 1995, he threw 13 touchdowns and 20 interceptions, and in 1996, he went just 2-7 in 9 starts, throwing 5 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. During his time in Seattle, he completed just 53.4% of his passes, throwing 41 touchdowns and 56 interceptions while never leading the Seahawks to a winning record, let alone a playoff appearance (although that didn’t stop them in 2010).

By 1996, it was clear that Mirer was not the chosen one in Seattle, and was so poor that he got benched for John Friesz. While Bledsoe went onto have a solid but largely forgotten career thanks to his successor, Mirer was a bust in every possible way. Combine that with the Seahawks signing Warren Moon in free agency, and there was no place for Mirer anymore.

And I think 28 other teams in the league realized this. Except for one.

Part II: Chicago’s QB Problems

In 1995, the Bears thought they found their quarterback. Erik Kramer had a pretty good season for Chicago, as he completed over 60% of his passes, threw 29 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions, and had 3,838 passing yards. While they didn’t make the postseason, they did end up finishing 9-7, and scored 392 points that year. Kramer was 4th in the NFL in passer rating, 4th in passing touchdowns, and 7th in passing yards, and he only got sacked 15 times (less than once per game), which was the best percentage in the NFL.

Unfortunately, 1996 was a bit of a different story. Kramer started the first four games of the season, and was absolutely abysmal. The 1995 season was a complete fluke for him, as in the first four games of the following season, he completed 48.7% of his passes, threw 3 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, and had a passer rating of 54.3. By comparison, if I entered a game and went 5-for-10 and all of my passes went for negative yardage, I would have a higher passer rating than Kramer.

Eventually, Kramer got hurt and got replaced by Dave Krieg. Krieg was a legend in Seattle; he made the Pro Bowl three times and eventually made the Seahawks Ring of Honor. There’s somewhat of a case for him to even be in the Hall of Fame. However, by 1996, Krieg was 38 years old. For a backup QB at this time, he was serviceable, but he certainly wasn’t great. He completed less than 60% of his passes, threw 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and was wildly inconsistent. He had games where he had a passer rating of 131.1 and 124, and would follow that up with a passer rating of 30.7, 36.1, 49.8, and 55.3. The Bears were 7-9 that year, and were probably a QB away from making the playoffs, seeing as their defense was pretty good (top half of the NFL) and their offense was really bad (bottom 5 in the NFL).

Going into 1997, Krieg was now on the Tennessee Oilers (for more on the Oilers when they played in Tennessee before becoming the Titans, click here for a piece I did a few years ago). Kramer was still on the Bears, and it was pretty clear he wasn’t the guy, and that the Bears wasted their money when they signed him from the Lions in free agency back in 1994.

The problem? They needed a quarterback. The solution? Well…

Part III: The Trade

The 1997 NFL Draft was not exactly a good draft at the quarterback position. When all was said and done, only one quarterback got taken in the first round, and that was Jim Druckenmiller out of Virginia Tech, who was chosen by San Francisco. He finished his career with exactly 1 touchdown pass and 4 interceptions and only lasted 2 seasons with the 49ers. In the first 41 selections, only one quarterback got chosen, and in the first three rounds, only 2 quarterbacks got taken. Outside of Jake Plummer getting taken by Arizona in the second round, nobody had a good career.

The other quarterbacks taken in that draft were Danny Wuerffel (New Orleans, round 4), Pat Barnes (Kansas City, round 4), Mike Cherry (NY Giants, round 6), Chuck Clements (NY Jets, round 6), Tony Graziani (Atlanta, round 7), Koy Detmer (Philadelphia, round 7), Wally Richardson (Baltimore, round 7), Tony Corbin (San Diego, round 7), and Ronnie McAda (Green Bay, round 7). If any of those names mentioned ring a bell besides Wuerffel (for what he did in college) and Graziani (for being an Arena Football League legend), then congratulations.

Point is, 1997 was not a good year for quarterbacks, and the Chicago Bears realized this to an extent. They needed a quarterback. Now, they could’ve done the smart thing and kept Kramer, tanked another year and entered the Peyton Manning lottery sweepstakes (and that’s not hindsight talking; Manning was that good). Instead, they decide that they need to win now and need a quarterback. So, they trade away their first round pick for Rick Mirer.

If the Bears had chosen a QB in the first round, aside from Plummer, it would’ve been a bust, but at least it would’ve been an unknown bust. Here? The Bears straight up gave away a first round pick for a bust.

The Seahawks really drove up the price by stating that the 49ers were interested in Mirer (because that makes perfect sense, seeing as Steve Young was still looking really good and was coming off of another Pro Bowl season in 1996), and the Bears bit, panicked, and gave away a first round pick. It wouldn’t be the last time the Bears got fleeced by the 49ers during the draft.

It also didn’t help that the Bears were a pretty dysfunctional organization, according to Mirer himself. I was able to find this Argus-Press article on the Mirer trade from when it happened back in 1997.

For those wondering what Seattle did, they made out like bandits because of the trade. They used Chicago’s pick as part of a package to get cornerback Shawn Springs with the third pick in the draft; Springs made a Pro Bowl, made Seattle’s 35th Anniversary Team, and finished with 20 interceptions with the Seahawks. And, with their other first round pick, they drafted Walter Jones, who would later go onto make the Hall of Fame and has a case for being the best offensive tackle of all-time.

The Bears, on the other hand? Their fate in 1997 was tied to the play of Rick Mirer.

Part IV: Aftermath

When you give up a first round pick for a veteran, he should be starting right away, right? It’d be different if you spend a first round pick on a rookie, but if you give that pick up for a veteran, they’ve got to be the starter. When Peyton Manning signed with the Broncos in free agency, there wasn’t a quarterback competition. If there was, there’d be issues.

Well, in Chicago, this was not the case. There was a quarterback competition between Kramer and Mirer, and in a preseason game against Arizona, they were playing the first team for three quarters while Kramer and Mirer got reps. Nevertheless, Mirer eventually got the starting job after the Bears started 0-3.

How bad did he play? Let’s put it this way. He is a bigger first round bust for the Bears than he was for the Seahawks.

Kramer got benched, and Mirer came in relief duty against the Lions in week 3 in a 32-7 loss. He ended up going 10-for-21 with 90 yards, 1 interception, and a 47.6% completion percentage. He got his first start with the Bears against the defending AFC champion New England Patriots (that statement meant a lot more in the 90s than it does now). While he completed 68% of his passes, he also threw 2 interceptions, had just 154 yards and a 51.1 passer rating, and got sacked 5 times in the 31-3 loss. The following week, he threw for 62 yards and an interception along with a 38.4 passer rating (a QB that throws all incomplete passes starts off with a 39.6 passer rating) in a 27-3 loss to the Cowboys. And, the following week against the Saints, he went 7-for-16 (43.75% completion) for 58 yards, no touchdowns, and a 53.6 passer rating. Mirer got pulled at halftime for Kramer, and even though the Saints won 20-17, they at least looked semi-competent under Kramer, so they went back to him for the rest of the 1997 season.

The 1997 Bears were bad. I’m half convinced that Avenue Q’s idea for the Bad Idea Bears were based off of Chicago giving up a first round pick for Rick Mirer. The Bears went 4-12 that season, and started off 0-7 before their bye week. Mirer’s final line with the Bears: 51.5% completion percentage, 420 yards, 0 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a passer rating of 37.7.

How bad was Mirer in 1997? Let’s put it this way. Since 1989, only three quarterbacks have ever posted a passer rating below 38 while throwing at least 103 passes. One of them is Alex Van Belt, who did so with the Bills back in 1997 (37.2). Another is Kurt Kittner, who did so with the Falcons back in 2003 (32.5). The other? Rick Mirer. And of the guys on the list, Mirer is the only one who accomplished this without throwing a touchdown pass.

The Bears don’t exactly have a good reputation at the quarterback position. Their best quarterback ever was Sid Luckman, who played in an era where teams were just starting to revolutionize the forward pass. And Rick Mirer didn’t exactly help them. They wasted a first round pick on a guy that was already a bust, and the end result? He was still a bust.

Here’s an NFL video on Mirer on the top 10 busts of all time. Mirer got cut after the 1998 preseason, and here’s an article about the final days of Mirer’s career in Chicago. I think this line by John Mullin, the writer of the article, says it best:

Mirer came to the Bears as the franchise quarterback of the future, so highly sought that the Bears traded their 1997 first-round draft pick for him. He leaves as a trivia item, a footnote to one of the worst seasons in team history, and certainly the poorest of his career.

Lost Leagues (Sundays)	Record Watch- Offense (Mondays)	Draft Scratchers (Tuesdays)	Record Watch- Defense (Wednesdays)	One Hit Wonders (Thursdays)	Weird Stat Threads (Fridays)
Part I: United Football League	Part I: Passing Yards	Part I: Roger Vick (NY Jets, 1987)	Part II: Sacks	Part I: Derek Loville (San Francisco, 1995)	Part I: NFL vs. Eurovision
Part II: Spring Football League	Part III: Receptions	Part II: Tyson Alualu (Jacksonville, 2010)	N/A	Part II: Patrick Jeffers (Carolina, 1999)	Part II: NFL vs. Preakness
Part III: Fall Experimental Football League	N/A	Part III: Rick Mirer Trade (Chicago, 1997)