Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy Bet Their Jobs on Mitchell Trubisky
Mitchell Trubisky has been named the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears in a move that makes little sense. Trubisky was terrible in 2019, his third in the league. It was so bad the Bears traded for Nick Foles and his terrible contract this offseason just to compete for the starting job.
In a competitive battle, Bears are expected to name Mitchell Trubisky the starting QB, source tells ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 4, 2020
It’s due to his progression, leadership and overall performance throughout camp. Nick Foles made decision difficult for Matt Nagy, but the team feels strong about its QBs.
Neither Trubisky nor Foles is a good quarterback, but Foles has at least had runs of success where he's led from the front and been aggressive. Trubisky is a check-down king who wilts under pressure and regressed last season.
In 2019, Trubisky finished the season ranked 32nd leaguewide in yards per attempt (6.1), 28th in passer rating (83.0), 21st in passing yards (3,138), 27th in touchdown passes (17) and 28th in QBR (39.4). He was one of the NFL's worst quarterbacks. At one point he was benched in favor of Chase Daniel, so you know things got really bad.
Trubisky has been a big-time bust since the Bears selected him with the second pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. That selection now looks even worse because Chicago passed on Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes in the process. And they traded up one spot to take him.
Some will point out that Trubisky had a solid year in 2018 when he completed 66.6 percent of his passes and had a passer rating of 95.4. But that quarterback rating only ranked 21st in the NFL, and his yards per attempt (7.4) ranked 18th. His "good" season was really a mirage.
Trubisky had offseason shoulder surgery, which might help him. But if the Bears are trying to sell themselves that a shoulder injury was holding Trubisky back, they need to watch more film. His decision-making was horrendous throughout the 2019 campaign and he regularly cost his team games.
What's really going on here is general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy are going all-in on their guy. Pace staked his job on Trubisky when he drafted him back in 2017 and Nagy has remained supportive of his floundering signal-caller. But these guys are dumping all their chips in the pot with a terrible hand. They're bluffing, they just don't know it.
It would be a miracle if Trubisky actually turned things around in 2020. If he doesn't, Pace and Nagy could be looking for new jobs.