It wasn't supposed to be like this. GM Ryan Pace had a plan. He knew what he wanted to do by the time of the 2017 NFL draft. He loved North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky. He saw a franchise player in waiting. So he hatched one of the greatest deception campaigns in Chicago Bears history to move up and grab him at #2 overall.
Everybody was caught by surprise, including Mike Glennon. The veteran former backup of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had signed a sizable deal to join the Bears. He'd been assured the starting job was his that season. A message Pace reiterated even after drafting Trubisky. That was always part of the plan. Contrary to the popular myth, the team knew what they were getting into with the young QB. They knew he had just one year of starting experience. He needed time to develop.
Time Glennon was supposed to buy. Time they didn't get. Former Bears QB Jim Miller believes Glennon's massive flop set things in motion far too soon, forcing Trubisky into the lineup long before he was ready.
"[Trubisky] was forced into duty too early," former Bears quarterback and preseason television analyst Jim Miller said. "I don't think their record is any different if Mike Glennon starts that whole year. So, Mitch is forced in -- he wasn't ready.
"Quick decisions, the requirement to process a lot of information -- and I think that's been a struggle for him," Miller added. "Head coach Matt Nagy said at the end of last year Mitch still needs to learn to read defenses. Until he does that and understands what he is seeing, I think he is going to struggle. This is really the tell-tale year for him. This is going to decide the story of where he's at, this season."
Bears didn't help Mitch Trubisky nearly enough
In four starts, Glennon threw for 833 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions. Things seemed headed in the right direction after an overtime win in Week 3 over Pittsburgh. Then, as is routine with Bears QB, the Packers happened. On a Thursday night at Lambeau Field, Glennon threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles in an ugly 35-14 defeat. That performance sealed his fate, forcing the team to make the switch.
Yet what gets overlooked about this sequence of events is the Bears upset the timetable even further. How? By changing head coaches and offensive systems in 2018. So not only was Trubisky forced to start before he was ready, now he would have to learn a brand new scheme. One he wasn't drafted to play in. Evidence of those concerns has spouted up consistently since then.
Thus we arrive at the present day, Trubisky battling for his NFL life against another exceedingly tall QB in Nick Foles. Could things have gone differently if he'd gotten more time to learn on the sideline? It's hard to know for sure but Miller seems to think so.
One thing is clear. While Trubisky hasn't helped his own cause, it's not like the Bears managed his development properly either.
