NEWSLETTER
All signs continue to point toward quarterback Mitch Trubisky making his return to the starting lineup on Sunday Night Football when the Chicago Bears host the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field.
Vegas set an early line for the Bears-Rams showdown, which could be a sign that Trubisky is healthy enough to start and healthy enough to be a factor. Remember, most oddsmakers didn’t put last week’s game on the board until it looked like a decision was made regarding the starting quarterback. There was also a hopeful Matt Nagy, who expressed some optimism, despite not feeling 100 percent certain Trubisky would be back and playing on Sunday.
The latest source of optimism comes from this tweet via Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune:
Bears will hit the practice fields in Lake Forest in the 1 o'clock hour today. It's expected that QB Mitch Trubisky will be out there. Barring a setback, it's increasingly likely that Trubisky will be back in action Sunday vs. the Rams.
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) December 5, 2018
I’ve never been so excited to read the words “increasingly likely” with regards to a football player, but here I am ready to embrace Trubisky’s return under center (or more likely, in shotgun formation).
Trubisky has missed the Bears’ last two games with a shoulder injury suffered after sustaining a late-hit from Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith in Week 11. Things started to turn the corner for QB1 beginning with being medically cleared to throw on Friday, then participating in a Sunday morning throwing session before the Bears’ Week 13 contest against the Giants. And even though Trubisky missed that game, optimistic appraisals of Trubisky’s situation started to roll in.
This, from NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport:
From @NFLGameDay: The #Bears are hopeful that QB Mitch Trubisky will return next week, and they should be considering how good he looked throwing it just now. pic.twitter.com/JgU9FDzUvX
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 2, 2018
Rapoport’s words from Sunday mirror the ones in Wiederer’s tweet above, down to the use of the phrase “barring any setback.” Further, Rapoport reports “things are ramping up very quickly” for Trubisky and that he looked “fantastic” throwing the ball. He also shares feelings from sources who were optimistic and hopeful the injury – which Rapoport calls a shoulder bruise – would be just a two-week thing. If that happens to be the case, Trubisky will be back in the mix starting with practice today.
Today is the day Nagy and Trubisky usually speak to the media. Trubisky hasn’t had his normal press conference the last two weeks, though he did speak with media members at his locker last week. If we’re going to get a better feel for what the situation is, it’s going to be around noon when the coach (and possibly quarterback) speak. Until then, we’re on pins and needles … though feeling better today than we did yesterday.
