No official announcement has been made but the news is out there. The Chicago Bears are expected to name Mitch Trubisky the starting quarterback for the 2020 season. What that means is anybody’s guess. Trubisky had a good camp, showing improvement in key areas like footwork and accuracy. Enough at least to keep Nick Foles at bay. Matt Nagy seems to believe it’s worth the risk.
The big question is whether any of that will matter when the actual games begin. Detroit will be the first test. Trubisky has had success against them in the past but every season is different. Of course, Bears quarterbacks always make it easy to be pessimistic. Every part of this roster looks improved from last season. Yet because there’s uncertainty at QB, it doesn’t seem to matter.
A lot of people were never satisfied with how the entire competition came together. Trading for Nick Foles at the cost of a draft pick at $21 million guaranteed only to ultimately make him the backup? This when Cam Newton, for all the risks involved, was available for a long time. There is even some buzz around the team that some within the organization itself don’t agree with the choice.
The interesting part was when GM Ryan Pace stated he would have a say in the final decision. That raised some eyebrows at the time. Shouldn’t it be the choice of the head coach to set his depth chart? Looking back, it’s hard not to feel this was a major factor.
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Is Matt Nagy too loyal for his own good?
From the start, the Bears head coach has said he wants to run this team like a family. Families stick together, right? If you show loyalty, it will be reciprocated. This is why Nagy has said again and again that he and Pace remain tight and on the same page. So it’s not a surprise he might acquiesce a little more than other guys regarding this decision.
People can’t forget reality. Pace was smitten with Trubisky from day one. He gave up four draft picks including the #2 overall to get him. He fired John Fox to bring in Nagy for the express purpose of making the kid a success. He’s spent tens of millions of dollars and several more draft picks building an offense around him. He staked his entire reputation as an NFL executive on this QB being a success.
After appearing to see it come so close to happening in 2018, it’s only natural a man with his gambler’s mentality would want to give it just one more shot. The trade for Foles was less about “competition” and more about appeasing Nagy by giving him a exit strategy if this goes sideways.
Pace has done everything in his power to give Trubisky a shot. There is nothing else he can do now but wait and pray.
