This is the first of a two-part series looking at the Chicago Bears quarterback competition. In part one, we give five reasons why Mitch Trubisky wins the job.
When the Chicago Bears start training camp, there will be a number of position battles to look forward to. The starting outside cornerback, starting right guard, and strong safety (or so the Bears say) are all up for grabs.
The biggest battle of them all happens at the most important position on the team — quarterback. The incumbent starter, Mitchell Trubisky, faces a stiff battle from newcomer Nick Foles. While Trubisky spent three seasons mainly struggling to lead the offense, Foles is a Super Bowl champion and a Super Bowl MVP.
Foles also has familiarity with the Bears coaching staff. The Bears brought in Bill Lazor to be the new offensive coordinator and John DeFilippo to be the quarterbacks coach. They both coached Foles when they were with the Philadelphia Eagles. Additionally, head coach Matt Nagy worked with Foles with the Eagles as well as with the Kansas City Chiefs. He has a good understanding of Nagy’s offensive system.
For those reasons, many feel that things are stacked against Trubisky. He’s coming off a tough season in which his offense ranked 29th in the league. Of course, he wasn’t completely responsible for all the struggles, but he owns a piece of it, however. He still looked confused at times, and he still locked onto receivers too much and had trouble making fairly easy throws (if he keeps missing that 10-yard out he should be cut on the spot).
One thing to note is that this is likely to be an extended battle. If Trubisky ends up winning the battle, he’ll still have a short leash. Once he starts reverting to his old ways head coach Matt Nagy won’t hesitate to make a change. The starter in Week 1 might not be the starter in Week 17.
While Trubisky has his struggles, he has some good assets as well. He is athletic, and when he’s going right he looks pretty good. He shows flashes of his abilities, like the six-touchdown games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018 or some of the pinpoint passes he throws when his mechanics are good.
We might have to wait until July 28 at the earliest to see the battle begin. Once it begins, the five reasons why Trubisky wins the job will be on display.