The saying goes when you have two quarterbacks, you have none. It may sound cliche but for the Chicago Bears, it’s hard not to feel like reality. They wanted a competition this offseason. That is why they traded for veteran Nick Foles. It was hoped he would go toe-to-toe with Mitch Trubisky in order to see who could better execute Matt Nagy’s offense.
In truth, it’s hard to call what took place a “competition” in the truest sense of the worst. COVID-19 resulted in minicamps, OTAs, and the preseason all being canceled. That meant Trubisky and Foles would do battle in training camp across just 14 padded practices. It is truly difficult to get a gauge on anybody in such a short space of time.
Thus Trubisky held serve and started the season.
After going 2-0 out of the gate, things took a major shift in Atlanta. Falling behind 23-10, the young QB threw a horrific interception. One that seemed to be the final straw for Nagy. Foles got the nod to go in and immediately led a furious comeback victory. He’s held the starting job ever since.
Yet fans have grown disillusioned with him as well. Foles’ numbers are actually worse since coming in. He’s thrown seven interceptions. On top of that, defenses have sacked him nine times just in the past two games. This has led to growing calls from Bears fans to go back to Trubisky. Calls that Nagy continues to ignore.
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Is the man just being stubborn and protecting his ego? Not exactly.
Bears need to know what they have in Nick Foles
Olin Kreutz had a great point following the loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. He understands why people are calling for Trubisky. His mobility could be of help behind this patchwork offensive line. Yet the Bears have more important reasons to stick with Foles. Namely to find out for certain if he can be their guy beyond 2020.
“But coach Nagy said going into the offseason, ‘I want a quarterback who knows the offense better than me.’ He doesn’t think Mitch knows the offense like that. And the thing about Mitch Trubisky is, I can’t argue against what Troy is saying, because the offense hasn’t looked great with Nick out there either. But Mitch started the last 22, 23 games and the offense averaged under 18 points a game. So they’re taking a look at Nick Foles.”
Foles has started five games for the Bears. He barely had an offseason to learn this offense. That is not nearly enough evaluation time to make a decision on a guy. Yes, he’s struggled lately but the Bears already know what they have in Trubisky. They had two full seasons to evaluate what he is. Going back to him now would serve no real purpose. The odds of him fixing everything wrong with this offense are remote.
This goes beyond 2020.
Chicago has a question they need to answer. How high of a priority is finding a new quarterback in 2021? Trubisky is a free agent next year and is likely gone. So they need to know if Nick Foles can be the guy for the time being. Perhaps long enough for them to reload the offense. If he can’t even offer that? Then it’s time to start preparations for an overhaul at quarterback as well. A clean slate.
If they go back to Trubisky now, they’ll only muddy the waters further. Barring injury, they must continue to stay the course.