Chicago Bears Matt Nagy is cautiously optimistic regarding Mitch Trubisky’s injured throwing shoulder:
Matt Nagy on Mitch’s availability for Thursday: “I’m staying cautiously optimistic but I can’t make any promises. I hope he does but it’s a day-to-day thing for us. … He wants to play, I know that. We’ve gotta make sure in these situations we’re doing the right thing."
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) November 20, 2018
While meeting with the media at Halas Hall on Tuesday, Nagy confirmed the injury wasn’t a long-term concern (Jeff Dickerson) and wasn’t going to require surgery (Rich Campbell). HOWEVER, Trubisky’s playing status this week remains in doubt, thanks in part to the quick turnaround.
But if you want to be optimistic, you can be optimistic:
Despite Mitchell Trubisky suffering a shoulder injury in fourth quarter against Vikings, Bears are optimistic their QB will be able to play Thanksgiving Day vs. Lions, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 20, 2018
Because of the short week, the Bears (and Lions) were forced to offer up estimated injury reports on Monday. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky appeared on Monday’s report with a right shoulder injury. The Bears didn’t practice on Monday, but if they did, Trubisky would not have participated. Trubisky missing on a hypothetical injury report and a hypothetical practice because of a shoulder injury that did not pop up on anyone’s radar until the team released said report has Bears backers in a tizzy. And rightfully so.
Trubisky’s improvements under center have helped guide the Bears to a 7-3 record. He has improved his completion percentage, passer rating, yards per attempt, and yards per game from Year 1 to Year 2, which has aided the Bears offense to rank sixth in offense and 16th in total yards. And while Chase Daniel is a perfectly fine backup quarterback, pressing him into action for a stretch run was a less-than-ideal scenario – even if the head coach has unwavering faith in QB2’s ability to handle business if it comes down to it.
If there was more time between games, we’d likely have a better grasp of the situation. But seeing as the situation is what it is at this point, the Bears are doing right by Trubisky and the team by treating his injury as cautiously as they did with injuries that sidelined pass-rusher Khalil Mack and wide receiver Allen Robinson.