Mitch Trubisky was his usual classy self during his press conference after the loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. He took responsibility for not doing enough to win the game. He also stated his clear desire to return next season despite being a free agent. He feels like he improved a lot from where he was last year and can still get a lot better moving forward. That decision though is out of his hands.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network stated both before and after the game that the odds of Trubisky returning to Chicago are unlikely at this point. It’s easy to forget he was benched back in September. The only reason they went back to him is that Nick Foles was struggling and then got hurt. His late run of solid games was nice but also came against some of the worst defenses in the NFL.
It’s been four years now. The Bears know who Trubisky is. He isn’t the guy.
One thing that has changed about the quarterback though? He’s no longer afraid to be openly honest about things. That was on display towards the end of his time with the media. When asked about what needs to change in order for things to improve. His answer was quite telling. It felt like a clear dig on head coach Matt Nagy and a supposed lack of accountability permeating the team.
Mitch Trubisky: "There’s a lot of things we need to do better, a lot of things we need to change. And a lot of it is the culture and what we accept and what we don’t."
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) January 11, 2021
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Is that a fair criticism? Yeah, it is. Just look at what happened in the game. The Bears committed nine penalties. Anthony Miller got ejected for throwing a punch. This after being expressly told to avoid confrontation earlier in the week. Javon Wims did the same thing two months ago and wasn’t cut for it. Then he dropped a TD pass in the game. The lack of discipline from this team is clearly evident, and that falls at the feet of the head coach.
From @GMFB: After a first-round playoff loss, #Bears QB Mitch Trubisky's future is uncertain in Chicago. pic.twitter.com/AbQ672JRXX
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2021
Mitch Trubisky is right about Nagy but that should not save him
The fact is the quarterback made plenty of his own mistakes. Not just in that game but over the course of his career. Good quarterbacks find ways to navigate a tough situation and still produce. See Deshaun Watson down in Houston. His head coach was fired. His best receiver was traded away. Yet he still had a career year with 4,800 yards passing and 33 touchdowns. What’s Trubisky’s excuse?
The Bears have spent four years trying to make it work for him. It hasn’t. His time in Chicago appears over. As for Nagy? His future is up in the air as well. This season marked the third time his offense failed to crack the top 20. His team finished this past year 8-8 despite a 5-1 start and got blown out in back-to-back games against Green Bay and New Orleans.
Nobody can call his standing in the organization solid.
Maybe the Bears will let him try to find his own quarterback since Mitch Trubisky technically wasn’t his personal choice. Then again he pushed for the trade to get Foles. So maybe that’s not the best idea either. Bottom line is this team could look a lot different over the next few months and it will start at the top.