Chicago Bears: 5 Veteran quarterbacks who could replace Mitch Trubisky in 2020

3. Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans

Marcus Mariota is a name that comes up quite a bit in connection with the Chicago Bears. He’s struggled with the Titans to the point that they benched him in favor of Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill has played well and the Titans likely move on from Mariota.

Mariota has a connection with the Bears. The team’s offensive coordinator, Mark Helfrich, was his head coach at the University of Oregon. That’s where Mariota had his greatest success and won the Heisman Trophy in 2014.

Perhaps a reunion with Helfrich is what Mariota needs to regroup and get back on track. No one else knows him like Helfrich so he’s best suited to put it together and help the Bears get back on track as well.

Mariota is a free agent at the end of the season. With his struggles, the Bears could sign him at a discounted rate. It wouldn’t prevent the Bears from keeping Trubisky. They could then have the two quarterbacks compete for the top spot. Trubisky, knowing that Mariota could have a leg up on him because of Helfrich, would work harder to improve his abilities.

I’m not saying that Trubisky lacks the proper work ethic to succeed. I think he works very hard to try to perform well. Having someone push him makes him (and Mariota) work even harder. Well, that’s the theory anyway.

I know that the rumors are out there but I see Mariota as the same quarterback as Trubisky. They are too similar for the Bears to pick one over the other. They’d be better off keeping Trubisky and spending money elsewhere.