While Chicago Bears Head Coach John Fox continued to make it clear that Mike Glennon was going to start at quarterback in Week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he also made note of Mitch Trubisky’s progress.
“I love where he is. I love his growth,” Fox said during his Monday press conference at Halas Hall. “I think the guy works at it very hard. He’s into it on gameday. I like where he is and I like his development.”
But for as much as Fox likes where Trubisky has made progress, he still seemed unsure when the rookie was going to earn a start under center. “I don’t believe anybody has a crystal ball when that is,” Fox said. “I don’t know and I’m here everyday watching him in practice and on video.”
Fox added there are “a lot of people evaluating the situation” in the quarterbacks room and that he would rather not try and predict the future.
It seems as if the only certainty is in the immediate future of Fox sticking with Glennon as the starter for a third week, in part because he believes it’s difficult to evaluate a player after just two games.
The third-year Bears coach was asked why Trubisky didn’t get mop up work in the fourth quarter with the Bears facing a substantial deficit. Surely, getting Trubisky some snaps in a low-pressure environment couldn’t have done much harm. However, Fox answered by saying Glennon needed to get work in, too. I suppose, to that end, Fox isn’t wrong, considering Glennon hadn’t been a starter since 2014 and showed that he still has developments to make on the field. But even Jameis Winston’s backup took some garbage time snaps.
Keep in mind, the Bears face a tough Pittsburgh Steelers team this week, and then the Packers in Green Bay on Thursday thereafter – that would have been a rough trial by fire for a rookie. Week 5, on the other hand, the Bears host the Vikings on Monday night. Perhaps if things haven’t steadied on offense by then, we could see a transition in the long week.
For what it’s worth, Fox ultimately quipped, “I wish we could play two quarterbacks at once, but I don’t know if that would be our best option.”