Ask anybody in the national media and they’ll likely give some version of the same answer. Mitch Trubisky is just about done in Chicago. The Bears might give him one last chance to start the 2020 season, but nobody believes the former #2 overall pick can play well enough to stay on the field. Especially now that a Super Bowl MVP is on the sidelines with him in Nick Foles. It’s a matter of time for most people. Only a few holdouts still truly believe that Trubisky can and will turn the corner.
That begs an interesting question. Has anybody else been in his position before and managed to survive? We’re not talking about just finding success in their careers. That’s been done a number of times. Almost always after the player changed teams. This is a discussion about a top draft choice who disappointed early, saw competition come in, responded well, and went on to success with his original team? The answer is, to put it bluntly, not many.
Looking over every 1st round pick from 1950 to the present day, there is only one name who fits the description. That was Roman Gabriel. A 2nd overall pick in 1962, he struggled a lot through his first two seasons with the Rams. So in 1964, the team drafted Bill Munson 7th overall out of Utah State. The two battled that entire season for the job. Gabriel had his most efficient year and ended up winning his spot. By 1967 he was a Pro Bowler and became league MVP in 1969.
Mitch Trubisky would blaze a seldom-traveled trail if it happens
That’s it. No other QB faced a similar scenario and lived to tell the tale. They either watched their careers go down the tube or resurfaced to find some success with another franchise. This should help people understand just how much pressure Trubisky is under. While GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy have publicly stated their belief in him, the reality feels far different. There isn’t a person who believes for a second that he will win the job and remain the starter for all of 2020. At best he’ll do enough to start the first month or so of the season.
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Then he’ll inevitably flounder, forcing the team to make the switch to Foles. That’s his best-case scenario in most people’s minds. That is a ton of pressure to overcome. Most players wouldn’t be able to handle it. They’d accept their fate and just take their chances someplace else. If Trubisky want to show people he’s made of tougher stuff than that, then he’ll have to traverse a course only one other man has in the past 56 years.
