Chicago Bears: Mitchell Trubisky creates training camp quagmire
The Chicago Bears have declared that Mike Glennon will be their starting quarterback, but Mitchell Trubisky’s presence complicates matters.
Not that it’s entirely unpredictable, but Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is causing a problem for the team. The No. 2 overall pick, who the Bears traded up to select, isn’t doing so verbally. In fact, the North Carolina Tar Heels product has been saying all of the right things to this point. Additionally, Trubisky has been playing well reportedly in minicamps and OTAs this offseason. Yet, his presence creates an issue.
From virtually the moment that Chicago took Trubisky, they’ve maintained that Mike Glennon will be the starter in 2017. The implication there would be that there won’t be a training camp battle at quarterback ensuing.
In truth, that makes sense for the Bears. Not only does Trubisky have growth ahead of him before he’s ready, but general manager Ryan Pace elected to pay Glennon a three-year contract worth $45 million and roughly $18 million guaranteed. That’s enough reason financially to roll with Glennon in the 2017 season.
At the same time, however, there are things that work in the rookie’s favor. ESPN and former NFL center Jeff Saturday recently spoke on the matter, saying he believes the Bears need to let Glennon and Trubisky battle for the job. He said this, via ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson:
"“They paid Glennon a lot of money and they are going to try and get that year out of him, but my issue with that — as a veteran — is that if Trubisky shows up and just balls out and is the guy on offense that everyone wants to follow, shows he can be an incredible leader on the football field, and shows he’s a great quarterback and is better than Glennon, and then you make that decision that he’s not going to start no matter what … I think you’ve done yourself a tremendous disservice.”"
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Therein lies the issue with the Bears already having named Glennon the unquestioned starter. Based on money and experience in the league, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneer fills that role. However, money and experience don’t throw passes when guys are on the field. That’s what the player and the leader under center does.
Subsequently, a quarterback competition for Chicago would make sense with training camp looming. The team, as a whole, would benefit by seeing who shows the best in camp and the preseason. As Saturday mentioned, that would give the roster an idea of the leader they want and/or need to follow.
All of that, however, circles back to the signing of Glennon. When they went out and inked the free agent, they made him promises of being the guy in 2017. If you hold an open competition for the starting job, though, those guarantees seem meaningless. Not only does that create a bad relationship with the player, but sends a bad message to future free-agent acquisitions.
Drafting Trubisky was a move the Bears felt they had to make, as was trading up to get him. And if he works out, everyone will forget about the immense package given up to make that deal. His presence right now, though, puts Pace and head coach John Fox in an unenviable position.
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If they stay the course with Glennon as the unquestioned starter, they miss out on Trubisky potentially being the better option. Conversely, an open battle for the spot is a bad look for the organization. As of now, they’re opting for the former option. But as the pressure mounts with camp and the preseason approaching, we’ll see if that changes at all.