NEWSLETTER
I suppose I can’t tell you on the one hand to mostly ignore everything the Bears were saying before free agency as it relates to the quarterback spot, and then turn around and tell you now that you should definitely believe everything the Bears are saying about the quarterback spot.
But I can definitely tell you that the reason we said to ignore all that stuff before – commitment to Mitch Trubisky, he’s the starter, and all that – is because we *KNEW* the Bears were going to add a QB in the free agent period, and we *KNEW* they were going to aim to add a guy who could possibly supplant Trubisky between now and week one. But since the Bears couldn’t yet know whether they’d be able to get their preferred guy, they had to do the song and dance back then. That’s all it ever was.
Fast-forward to now, they’ve got their guy in Nick Foles. He may not be the Week One starter, but given the relationships he has and his ability lead a team, I think it’s safe to say the Bears brought him in with the comfort in knowing he *COULD* be the Week One starter. Which means the things Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy say in today’s state-of-things press conference *CAN* be taken a little more seriously now.
Like the not-at-all-a-shocking-revelation if you’ve been paying attention at all: the Bears now officially have an open competition at quarterback, and it’s (at least) between Foles and Trubisky.
Pace: "With the addition of Nick Foles it’s exactly what we talked about from the start – we want to create competition. We've talked to both players and it’s an open competition."
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 3, 2020
Nagy on open competition at QB: "What we're trying to do is best for the Chicago Bears, plain and simple."
— Larry Mayer (@LarryMayer) April 3, 2020
Bears HC Matt Nagy says the QB competition will be very honest and transparent.
— Jeff Dickerson (@DickersonESPN) April 3, 2020
I really do believe this stuff. Obviously Trubisky is still physically very talented, and obviously the organization has invested a lot in his development. While we may not see it as likely that he steps forward this year and becomes the kind of franchise quarterback you extend for the next five+ years, it is certainly still possible. So, with Foles at the ready to take over if necessary, you have some time at least to see if Trubisky can take enormous steps forward from now until September (or whenever the season actually opens). But if pushing Trubisky by way of Foles doesn’t bring out the best in Trubisky, fine, then Foles is the starter. It’s truly a legit open competition between at least those two guys.
I say “at least” because we’re not ruling out the possibility that the Bears draft a quarterback semi-early, and allow him to participate in the competition this summer, too. Odds are much better that either Foles or Trubisky would be the guy for 2020 while that third quarterback develops, mind you. Foles has outs in his new contract after this year, and, assuming the Bears don’t pick up his fifth year option, Trubisky can be a free agent after this year, too. A lot will be up in the air, but the best bet is that one of those two proves to be the 2020 starter, and perhaps a younger guy develops for a year+ behind him.
