If people weren’t entirely sure the future of Mitch Trubisky in Chicago was set in stone or not? They got their clearest answer yet on Wednesday. The Bears announced that the 26-year old quarterback had injured his throwing shoulder in the loss to New Orleans last Sunday. It came on the one snap of the game he played, landing awkwardly while getting tackled.
This marks the second time Trubisky has injured that shoulder dating back to 2018. Never a good sign for a quarterback. Belief is it could be serious. He may miss significant time, leaving the Bears dangerously thin at QB behind Nick Foles with only Tyler Bray available. Given the equally bad state of the offensive line? The timing of this couldn’t be worse.
Then there is the wider outlook.
It was already becoming evident Matt Nagy was done with Trubisky. After two years he’d seen enough. In his mind, this isn’t their quarterback of the present or future. Whether that ends up being Foles or somebody else, it was time to put an end to that era. Still, a lot of Bears fans remain curious about what Trubisky’s fate will be.
Players leaving one team to join another and having success isn’t a new thing in the NFL. Quarterbacks are no exception. Jim Plunkett was a flop in New England. He eventually won two Super Bowls in Oakland. Alex Smith was mostly a disappointment in San Francisco. After being traded to Kansas City, he went to three Pro Bowls.
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Some fear the same thing can happen with Trubisky. He’s never lacked talent. Maybe he just needs the right situation. It’s a matter of finding it.
Former player thinks Mitch Trubisky could stay close by
While nobody believes the quarterback will get a starting opportunity elsewhere right away, there are some possible destinations he could land that perhaps set him up down the line. Adam Jahns of The Athletic spoke to ESPN analyst and former player Matt Bowen about it. In his mind, two teams stick out as logical landing spots for Trubisky.
One being the Tennessee Titans and the other? The Minnesota Vikings. He explained why the fit makes so much sense.
“You look at Cleveland and it’s basically the same offense that Minnesota runs,” Bowen said. “It’s a Gary Kubiak offense, a lot of movement, a lot of misdirection. You’re taking a lot of the processing out at the quarterback position, giving him again more defined reads, a lot of boot, a lot of layered reads or leveled reads, where you’re giving the quarterback a high-low read. You got one defender to read. If he plays deep, you throw it under, if he plays short, throw it deep.”
A big reason the Vikings make sense is their dedication to running the football. Something that was never going to be the case under Nagy.
“But again would Mitch fit in that run-heavy approach, of course, he would. He would fit in Minnesota. As a free agent, he could have an opportunity to go there.”
Bowen would go on to say that the marriage of Nagy and Trubisky never made sense. The Chiefs-style system that Nagy brought in didn’t fit the style of quarterback Trubisky played. Ironically, what former head coach John Fox implemented in 2017 with a run-heavy approach featuring Jordan Howard was a far better plan.
At least that offense had an identity.
Now the Bears are once again left without an answer at quarterback. Just imagine what happens if Mitch Trubisky ends up signing with the Vikings to back up Kirk Cousins. That would add a fascinating new layer to the story. One Bears fans probably wouldn’t want to see since it could end up coming back to haunt them.
