Is Mitch Trubisky 2018 vs. 2019 the great single-season decline for a Chicago Bears quarterback ever? No. People should look at Erik Kramer 1995 to 1996 for an idea about that award. Even so, there is no getting around the reality. Trubisky hasn't lived up to the hype. It felt like he was so close too. He delivered one of the best performances in Bears playoff history for a quarterback, almost leading the team back against Philadelphia before Cody Parkey ruined it.
Ever since then, it feels almost like Trubisky hasn't quite gotten over that. Like he's trying to do more than just play the game. He's putting too much pressure on himself and it's begun to shatter his confidence. The mistakes are multiplying and he won't even run the ball anymore. It's sad to watch, but former NFL linebacker Bobby Carpenter spoke on ESPN's "Get Up" that the timing of all this is actually a good thing for the franchise.
"Trubisky isn't great at diagnosing coverages. He struggles to see down the field and this may honestly be a blessing in disguise for Bears fans. Maybe the worst thing that could've happened is maybe he caught fire a little bit at the end this year. Maybe they make a little bit of a playoff run and it ends up like the Blake Bortles situation in Jacksonville.
Where you commit to a guy because of how good your team is and he's played well at the right times. But then it's going to hamstring you the next two or three years because you're going to be committed to that guy for more than just his rookie deal."
Mitch Trubisky exit must be swift and certain
Carpenter raises a good point. Jacksonville drafted Blake Bortles third overall in 2014 and experienced three inconsistent seasons with him going into 2017. Then the Jaguars went 10-6, made the playoffs and reached the AFC championship game. During that run, Bortles had the second-highest passer rating of his career and managed to make it through the entire playoffs without a single interception. That was enough to convince the team to pay him a new three-year $54 million contract in 2018.
Bortles ended up going 3-9 with 13 TDs and 11 interceptions that season.
That was five seasons pretty much wasted by the organization on what was clearly a below-average quarterback. For Chicago, Trubisky's decline has proven more timely coming in Year 3. They know now that they have a roster that is capable of competing in the playoffs. It's the quarterback position that is holding them back. So they might be able to escape the same trap without ever having to hand out an expensive contract or probably even pick up his $24 million 5th-year option.
It might not be the ending Bears fans hoped for with Trubisky, but it's certainly a lot less bad than it could've been.
