Chicago Bears training camp: 6 Players hurt by not having a preseason

1. Nick Foles, Quarterback

Now we get to the most important position on the football field, and the biggest problem point in the history of the Chicago Bears franchise — quarterback.

The quarterback competition was the most anticipated battle going into training camp. Now, with no preseason games, the luster is off. The battle won’t be as competitive as we imagined it.

General manager Ryan Pace has a lot invested in starter Mitchell Trubisky. He gave up a lot of draft capital and missed out on some big talent so he could draft the North Carolina prospect second overall in the 2017 NFL draft. Pace’s job is on the line if Trubisky doesn’t succeed. At the end of the season in 2019, he even declared that the Bears would enter 2020 with Trubisky as the starter.

It was a surprise, then, that the Bears went out and traded Nick Foles. For the past two seasons, Chase Daniel was Trubisky’s backup. There was no way he could do anything to push Trubisky. However bad Trubisky played, he knew that Daniel wasn’t the answer.

Now, with Foles, things are different. Foles is a Super Bowl champion and a Super Bowl MVP. He did that coming off the bench. Additionally, he did it while playing in the same system that head coach Matt Nagy runs. Foles has experience working with Nagy when both were with not only the Philadelphia Eagles but also the Kansas City Chiefs. Foles also worked with offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.

Many people felt that Foles could actually push Trubisky to the bench. Trubisky has trouble making plays. One of the biggest reasons is his inability to read defenses. Foles makes decisions quickly and does a good job of moving the ball downfield.

Now Trubisky has a huge advantage. At camp, pass rushers aren’t allowed to rush the quarterback. Trubisky won’t have any pressure going his way so he could stand there and find the open receiver. There will be no games in which rushers want to hit him.

Unless Trubisky looks absolutely awful in camp this battle will carry on to the regular season. We keep hearing about how Trubisky adjusted and looks so much better but when the regular season comes around we see the same thing.

People keep talking about how well Trubisky performed in 2018 and regressed in 2019. Well, take a look at the comparisons:

• 2018: 66.6 percent completion rate; 3,223 passing yards; 24 touchdowns; 12 interceptions; interception percentage 2.8 percent; 1 fourth-quarter comeback
• 2019: 63.2 percent completion rate; 3,138 passing yards; 17 touchdowns; 10 interceptions; interception percentage 1.9; 3 fourth-quarter comebacks

As you can see, some numbers were better in 2018 while others were better in 2019. The regression wasn’t that big of a difference between the two seasons.

As I mentioned, Pace invested a lot in Trubisky. He wants Trubisky to succeed. I’m sure it took a lot for him to bring in Foles just in case. If Foles did well enough to start over Trubisky then at least Pace could still keep his job. He’d still get the criticism over giving up so much on a failed project, however.

Now, Trubisky will end up being the starter. Even so, the competition will extend to the regular season. Nagy will certainly have a short leash on Trubisky. The ultimate winner of the competition will be determined well into the regular season. What we know is that Trubisky will likely be under center Week 1 when the Bears play the Detroit Lions.