Patrick Mahomes clears up Bears 2017 draft blunder, but doesn’t make it any better

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes clarified his dad’s comments that the Chicago Bears told him that they were going to draft him in 2017.

Patrick Mahomes is set to compete in Super Bowl 57, his third appearance in the big game in five years as the Kansas City Chiefs‘ starting quarterback.

In the days leading up to his huge matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, Mahomes’ father, Patrick Mahomes Sr., made some comments that made Chicago Bears fans even more upset that the team didn’t draft him in 2017. Specifically, the former MLB pitcher told “The Parkins and Spiegel Show” on 670 The Score in Chicago that the Bears told Mahomes that they were going to draft him. Of course, the Bears traded up to the No. 2 pick to select Mitchell Trubisky.

“Because they told him that they were going to draft him,” Mahomes Sr. said, h/t NBC Sports Chicago. “They told him they were going to draft him, so we thought he was going to be the third pick overall and go to Chicago. He had a great meeting when he there and liked all the guys that were doing stuff there. He thought he was going to be a Bear.

“And then once they traded up and got Mitch, it kind of hurt him. It really did.”

While meeting with the media on Wednesday, Mahomes clarified his father’s comments. Video comes courtesy of PJ Green of FOX 4 Kansas City.

Patrick Mahomes clarifies father’s comments about Bears/2017 NFL Draft

“My dad took it a little far,” said Mahomes. “It wasn’t that I thought the Bears were going to draft me, but I was told that if they drafted a quarterback, that I would be the quarterback that they drafted. That wasn’t necessarily from their people, but that was told to my camp. It did surprise me a little bit, but they told me they weren’t drafting a quarterback, so that was the most surprising thing of it all.

“He acted like they were going to 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 a quarterback was drafted, I would be the guy they drafted.”

Not sure that this will make Bears fans be any better, but Mahomes wanted to clarify his father’s comments.

On the opening night of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Bears made a trade with the San Francisco 49ers to move up from the No. 3 spot to the No. 2 position. The move highlighted that the franchise wanted to select a quarterback. Mahomes was on the board, but the Bears opted to select Trubisky.

As we all know, this move worked out well for the Chiefs. Sitting at the No. 27 spot, the Chiefs acquired the 10th-overall selection from the Buffalo Bills in exchange for their aforementioned 2017 first-round pick, a 2017 third-round pick, and a 2018 first-rounder. With that, they selected Mahomes.

These decisions by the Bears and Chiefs will forever be compared. While Trubisky had a solid showing in his second year (2018), he didn’t pan out for Chicago, and he found himself out of the organization after just four years. Meanwhile, the Chiefs found their face of the franchise and the NFL’s biggest star in Mahomes, who took over as starting quarterback in 2018 after trading Alex Smith. He won the NFL MVP in his first season as starter, and led Kansas City to their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years the following campaign. This season, he could win his second NFL MVP award and his second Super Bowl title.

While the Bears missed on Mahomes, fans can take solace in the fact that they have a promising young quarterback on the roster in Justin Fields, and the team has $98 million in cap space to build a team around him.