NFL
The Chicago Bears Aren't Ready to Give up on Mitchell Trubisky Just Yet
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sports7 in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sports7, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
Get to know Joe Kozlowski betterUpdated02 Jan 2020
Every NFL team strives to get a difference-maker under center. While there are plenty of game-managers out there, guys like Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, or Lamar Jackson can elevate a squad to the next level. Despite their draft day hopes, the Chicago Bears didn't get that kind of player when they selected Mitchell Trubisky.
Despite the young quarterback's struggles, he'll get another chance in the Windy City. The Chicago Bears aren't willing to make a change under center just yet.
Mitchell Trubisky's career so far
While the University of North Carolina's basketball program is more famous, Mitchell Trubisky played his college football for the Tar Heels. The quarterback redshirted his first year in Chapel Hill, then spent the next two years as a back-up; he finally got a shot as a junior, though. Trubisky threw for 3,784 yards and 30 touchdowns and promptly declared for the NFL draft.
Despite his relative inexperience, Trubisky was still tabbed as an NFL talent. Sports Illustrated, for example, called the quarterback “a mixed bag” and said he needed to improve his footwork. The publication, however, still ranked him as the fourth-best quarterback in the draft class, only behind Deshaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes, and DeShone Kizer. The Chicago Bears, however, felt confident that he was their man.
While the Bears passed on Watson and Mahomes to select Trubisky, the pick hasn't worked out. Through three seasons under center, the Chicago quarterback has only truly shone in one campaign; 2019 was expected to be a coronation, but Trubisky regressed. While the Chiefs and Texans are playing postseason football, the Bears are sitting at home.
The Bears are sticking with Mitchell Trubisky, at least for now
After a meek 2019 campaign, many felt that the Chicago Bears could cut bait with Mitchell Trubisky. That won't be the case, however; the club's general manager confirmed that their young quarterback will remain under center next season.
“Yes, we do [feel comfortable with Trubisky as the starter],” Ryan Pace told reporters. “I think with Mitch, as we go through it, we need more time in the coming months to evaluate everything, but the first thing that comes to mind for me is just consistency. You see moments, you see games, but for him [the issue is] stringing together better consistency. So you have the peaks and valleys. We just need to flatten that out.”
We believe in Mitch,” the general manager continued. “And we believe in the progress that he's gonna continue to make.”
Judge the Chicago Bears on their actions, not their words
While Mitchell Trubisky will remain the starter, for now, the Bears' offseason activity will belie their true feelings. Beyond deciding on Trubisky's fifth-year option, the front office will also need to sign a back-up quarterback. Chicago doesn't have a great deal of flexibility, but if they bring in a name-brand veteran like Cam Newton or Eli Manning, we'll know they don't have supreme confidence in Trubisky.
Regardless of who's under center, though, the Bears need to be better as a whole. Plenty of teams can survive poor quarterback play by leaning on a strong defense, a tough running game, or smart playcalling; Chicago had none of those elements to take any weight of Trubisky's shoulders last season.
Keeping Mitchell Trubisky, in of itself, isn't a death sentence for the Chicago Bears. If the rest of the team remains the same, though, don't expect the young quarterback to turn into Joe Montana over the summer.
