The Chicago Bears surprised many by naming Mitchell Trubisky as the starting quarterback for Week 1.
The Bears brought in Nick Foles and gave him $21 million guaranteed in the offseason to compete with Trubisky. That wasn’t enough for the veteran to win the job, though, and coach Matt Nagy explained why on Sunday.
“You could feel the command,” Nagy said of Trubisky, via Jelani Scott of NFL.com. “I think the difference in the command that I felt and that our coaches felt was it’s one where it’s just very natural. It wasn’t made up, it wasn’t being told from somebody how to act, it was just very organic. And you can tell that with guys when they are natural with that and I thought he improved there. So, for him, when he gets this opportunity like he has right now, you can just feel that he’s ready to get out there and just really play hard for his teammates.”
Nagy added that Trubisky’s accuracy, footwork, and decision-making all improved during the course of camp, convincing the coaching staff that he was good enough to retain the starting job.
The improved footwork is likely the result of Trubisky’s offseason work. It looks to have paid off for him. 2020 will essentially be his last chance to prove himself to the Bears. The 26-year-old will need to improve on his 17 touchdown and 10 interception showing last season to actually keep the job.
