The Chicago Bears obviously feel Mitchell Trubisky is a franchise quarterback, otherwise they would not have traded up one spot to guarantee themselves a shot at him in the NFL Draft. However, that does not mean they want the former North Carolina star to be their starting quarterback at any point during the upcoming season.
In fact, they would prefer for him not to be.
Emily Kaplan of The MMQB went behind the scenes to figure out how it was the Bears decided Trubisky was their guy. In the feature, Kaplan noted that the Bears feel Trubisky is a great fit for new offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains’ system, but they want him to hold a clipboard for at least a full season.
Sources say the Bears preferred Trubisky over Watson or Texas Tech’s Pat Mahomes because they felt his skillset best fits Loggain’s offense—and because he is poised to get on the field sooner. But that comes with a caveat: ideally, Trubisky won’t take a regular-season snap in 2017 — even as pressure mounts in Chicago to win.
The Bears have made it very clear that Mike Glennon, whom they gave $18.5 million guaranteed to earlier this offseason, is still the team’s starter. In fact, Bears GM Ryan Pace considers Glennon the Brett Favre to Trubisky’s Aaron Rodgers.
“I know a lot of people will talk about Green Bay when [Brett] Favre was there and Aaron Rodgers came in, and there was another veteran quarterback on the roster as well,” Pace said. “And the importance of Rodgers’ development while that was going on.”
The bigger question is whether or not Glennon will want to accept that role, and this report indicates that could be a major issue.
It makes sense that the Bears don’t want to throw Trubisky into the mix too early, especially since he only made 13 starts in college. That said, the pressure will mount if Chicago starts losing games, and that is a legitimate possibility with Glennon under center. Sticking to the plan for the No. 2 overall pick will not be easy.
