Victor Cruz Wouldn’t Be Surprised if Mitch Trubisky Started in Week Five

Perhaps things could’ve gone differently in the early season, but three games into his Chicago Bears career, and nothing Mike Glennon has done instills long-term confidence (or even short-term hope) in the Bears’ highest-paid free agent acquisition of the offseason.

Indeed, the Mike Glennon era was built on a shaky foundation and can collapse at a moment’s notice.

In the Chicago Sun-Times, Adam Jahns writes Mike Glennon’s last stand could come on Thursday Night Football (tonight) in front of a packed house at Lambeau Field … and millions of eyes in front of a nationally televised primetime audience. No pressure, kid.

Glennon can cement his spot in the rivalry’s lore and hold off the talk of Mitch Trubisky taking his job (for now) in one fell swoop tonight with a strong, turnover-free outing where he does more than complete a dozen passes at or behind the line of scrimmage. And if he doesn’t, the calls for Trubisky will only get louder.

And they might anyway, even if the Bears find a way to pull off a second straight upset:

https://twitter.com/nflnetwork/status/913200610572304384

Wide receiver Victor Cruz, who was signed in the offseason but cut at the end of the preseason, told NFL Network’s Good Morning Football program he wouldn’t be surprised if Trubisky was the team’s starter by Week 5.

That’s oddly specific.

“He’s a good player,” Cruz said. “I think some of the preseason of you saw of his intangibles getting outside of the pocket. He’s extremely accurate, and as he got more and more comfortable he started to command the offense. He started to come in that huddle with a little bit of swagger and was talking to us the way he wanted these things run.”

Cruz worked exclusively with Trubisky when the two practiced as part of the third-string offense during training camp and with the backup offense during preseason games. He even caught Trubisky’s first touchdown, which showed the kind of chemistry and rapport the two built. But if Cruz saw Trubisky gaining confidence and understanding of the offense during preseason, it’s hard to imagine him not being in a better spot after four practice weeks and regular reps as the No. 2 quarterback in practice.

We explored the idea of when it would make the most sense to start Trubisky, and a Week 5 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings seems to make a lot of sense on paper. But the Bears would have to make it through (and see what happens in) Week 4 before that discussion begins.

Which brings us back to tonight’s game.

Bears-Packers games have long been turning points that have provided key moments for each historic franchise. Some of the most prevalent moments have come in recent years. We’ll all rememberJay Cutler’s interception-filled debut, Aaron Rodgers’ broken collarbone that came on a Shea McClellin sack, or the team getting mashed by a 55-14 score in 2014 to kick-start the franchise’s jettisoning of GM Phil Emery and head coach Marc Trestman after a two-year stint.

Something big always seems to happen, so why would Week 4 of the 2017 season be any different?

written by

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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