Mitch Trubisky still has his core of believers. However, if one were to poll Chicago Bears fans the odds are a strong majority of them would declare their lack of faith the former #2 pick can rebound from his ugly 2019 season. After three years the 25-year old quarterback had some nice moments. The problem is a lot of the issues he displayed as a rookie in 2017 were still present last season. It’s created a lack of faith. If he hasn’t figured it out yet, will he ever?
Some people still believe it’s possible. An unexpected name in that group is James Conner. The Pro Bowl running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers appeared on the Pardon My Take podcast recently. He discussed his battle with cancer, his new book, and other subjects. As the conversation wound down, host Big Cat mentioned in passing he was a Bears fan but always liked the Steelers.
That’s when Conner, unprompted, cautioned everybody to not ignore Trubisky.
“Make sure you’re not sleeping on my boy Mitch though. I think Mitch going to come out hot this year. That’s my dog. That’s my dog. I played Mitch senior year of high school. Even going at it Pitt vs. North Carolina. Steelers-Bears even though I wasn’t playing that year. That was 2017. I think Mitch…I know about his work ethic, man. I know what he’s about to do. I think he’s going to come out fired up.”
Mitch Trubisky stung Conner multiple times
In 2012, Trubisky was the starting QB for Mentor High School. The second game of that season, they met McDowell High School where Conner was their starting running back. Trubisky threw for 400 yards, ran for 99 and accounted for five touchdowns in a 34-27 victory. Four years later the two met again when Pitt visited North Carolina. The Panthers seemed to have the game in hand at 19-7 at one point. Then Trubisky engineered a crazy comeback that saw the Tarheels escape 37-36. He threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns.
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So it’s understandable why Conner isn’t going to buy into that idea that the quarterback is finished. He’s seen what Trubisky does when he comes out hot. Especially when his back is to the wall. The QB, for his part, is putting in tons of extra work. He was recently spotted getting lessons from respected QB tutor Jeff Christiansen. The same man who helped mentor Patrick Mahomes, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Ryan Tannehill.
Conner might be biased, but he also might not be wrong.