Mitch Trubisky is probably the lowest he’s ever been in his athletic career. Remember that this is a kid who has always been a success wherever he’s gone. He was Mr. Ohio Football in high school. He had a terrific 2016 season at North Carolina and became a #2 overall draft pick. It’s only natural he felt the same would be true in the NFL, especially after such a promising 2018 campaign. Eight games into this season though have shattered his illusions. This league has no mercy for those that can’t keep up, and it’s clear he hasn’t.
Through six complete starts, he has five touchdown passes. He’s yet to throw for more than 260 yards in a game this season. His completion percentage has dropped significantly and he isn’t using his legs anymore too. All signs point to a guy who has completely lost his confidence. This has led many to call on head coach Matt Nagy to bench him in favor of backup Chase Daniel. One person is advising strongly against that decision. Four-time Pro Bowler Michael Vick urged the team to stay the course.
“I think the worst thing right now for Mitch is to be benched. He’s in his third year. He’s an investment. For some quarterbacks it takes time. I’ll say this. It’s Matt Nagy’s decision and Matt Nagy is responsible for Mitch Trubisky. He’s responsible for making sure that this guy can go out and play better than what he played yesterday…
…I don’t want to see him benched because I think that’s the worst thing that you can do for a guy that’s in a funk. He’s playing with no confidence. How do you get him confidence? You give him things that he likes. Make him feel good about the game plan. Make Trubisky at least an above-average player within this next eight-game stretch. That’s the best thing they can do. Then give it a full season, and then you can look back and say we can’t move forward with this guy.”
Vick believes Mitch Trubisky still has time to rally
It’s clear Vick believes the Bears need to stay patient with their young quarterback. Some guys take longer than others to figure things out. He might be a perfect example of that. Through his first six seasons he completed barely 53% of his passes with 71 TDs and 52 interceptions. The only reason he wasn’t benched was that he made a ton of big plays with his legs. It wasn’t until he returned to the league in 2009 after a two-year hiatus in prison that he figured things out. Over the next four seasons, he completed 60% of his passes with 52 TDs and 30 interceptions.
He feels that Trubisky is capable of the same thing. It’s a matter of seeing things through to the end. That means giving him the final eight games. Winning is important but Nagy has to do everything in his power to make his young quarterback comfortable and rebuild his confidence. Maybe doing that might turn the light back on before it’s too late. If it doesn’t? Then the Bears can go into 2020 with zero regrets about their efforts to help him.
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