Mike Glennon Says Bears Are His Team But This Says Otherwise

The Mike Glennon Mitch Trubisky debate is something that is going to envelop the entire Chicago Bears fan base for the next seven months. For 2017 though the veteran Glennon indicated several times during his first press conference at Organized Team Activities that the team had not withdrawn their promise that it was his show for this year. Drafting Trubisky had not changed that. It would be Glennon's show. Understandable in its outlay. Glennon of course has a much greater experience advantage and the Bears didn't pay him $18.5 million in guaranteed money to sit on the bench. They promised him an opportunity and he's getting it. GM Ryan Pace just wasn't willing to mortgage his and the teams' future on a former backup quarterback. The drafting of Trubisky was meant to add depth and competition. However, there is reason to think that the Bears aren't holding their breath on Glennon being anything more than a placeholder.

Mike Glennon Mitch Trubisky practice reps drop big hint

Initial impressions out of practice offer some interesting nuggets. The play of receivers Cameron Meredith and Kendall Wright stood out. Leonard Floyd looked bigger and stronger. Rookie tight end Adam Shaheen continued his string of impressive practices. The most interesting tidbit though was saved for the quarterbacks. Specifically the division of reps between Glennon and Trubisky.

Word is that Trubisky and Glennon are dead even in practice with how many snaps they're getting with some believing that the rookie might even be getting a few extra. Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains tried to explain this dilemma to ESPN recently.

"We have to be really smart with our plan and how we practice, because it's not just one guy, it's two guys [Glennon and Trubisky], and there's [backups] Mark [Sanchez] and there's Connor [Shaw]," Loggains said on Friday. "So we need to make sure that we're getting everyone ready to play ... because there's three new faces and only one guy [Shaw] that was in the room last year."  

Few things can tell a greater story for how a team really feels about a player than how many reps he gets in practice. The fact that Trubisky might be getting as many or more snaps than Glennon is a huge hint from the team brass about where their expectations lay. If they were really behind the veteran like he says, then common sense dictates he gets the majority of the reps. This is after all a new offense he's walking into. If he's going to be effective like they hope he'd need every one. Instead they seem dead set on developing Trubisky as fast as possible. This shouldn't be a big surprise. Pace did trade up in the draft to get him. Clearly the GM has a strong belief that he can be the guy. If nothing else this sends a clear enough message. The 2017 season may belong to Glennon, but beyond that? Best not to hold his breath.