The Chicago Bears made a calculated gamble when they offered Mike Glennon a three-year, $45 million contract after two backup seasons in Tampa Bay where he threw just 11 total passes. On Feb. 28, the franchise admitted failure and announced at the NFL Combine they would cut the veteran quarterback, saving $11.5 million in salary cap space in the process.

Glennon was supposed to be the Bears’ balm after getting burned by years of Jay Cutler’s uneven play. Instead, he was undermined by a front office that traded up to draft his replacement before he could even practice with the team, then usurped when Mitchell Trubisky developed into a starter more quickly than expected.

It wasn’t all bad for Glennon, however. He’ll walk away with $18.5 million for his 1-3 record as a starter in Chicago.

What does this mean for the Bears?

Chicago made an easy decision in releasing Glennon. He fell out of favor early in 2017 and was due to count $16 million against the team’s cap — entirely too much for a backup passer.

Trubisky’s rookie season wasn’t a work of art, but he showed off the mechanics and potential that made him the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The team’s next step will be to surround him with talent and see if he capitalizes, otherwise known as the Jared Goff plan in Los Angeles. Only one of his wide receivers caught more than 25 passes last fall, and he was sacked on nearly nine percent of his dropbacks.

What’s next for Mike Glennon?

Glennon’s days as a starter are finished, and it seems unlikely he’ll sniff another contract even approaching the $18.5 million in guarantees he got from the Bears. He’s 6-16 as a starter for his career, and while he’s been stuck on bad teams, a look at his conservative play behind center is proof his ceiling is as a caretaker quarterback in the NFL.

That doesn’t mean he won’t have his place, however. Glennon remains a valuable backup, although not one worth an average of $15 million per year. He completed nearly two-thirds of his passes last fall and though he failed to make plays in the red zone, can provide a reliable presence in the middle of a franchise’s depth chart.