Matt Nagy had a surprise for his Chicago Bears at the beginning of minicamps. Rather than the usual grind of practice, he instead held a massive Monday Fun Day. An event that held all sort of competitions from dodgeball to Saltine eating, water balloon tossing, and bat balancing. Among them also included a punting battle. One can imagine Pat O'Donnell had no issues with that.
The team punter had one of his better seasons in 2018. A big reason why they signed him to a new multiyear contract this past offseason. Hopes are high that he'll continue to improve. That doesn't mean he is entirely in the clear though. The Bears may have another option on the roster in case he suddenly takes a significant downturn.
It isn't another specialist either. Believe it or not, it's their quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Though known for his quality arm and accuracy, he showcased quite a leg during the competition as well.
Pat O'Donnell would be wise not to ignore Trubisky's prowess
It should be known that quarterbacks who can also punt is hardly anything novel to the NFL. There have been a number of notable names who could do both. Tom Brady did it for the Patriots in his early days. John Elway did the same in Denver. Danny White was actually both the quarterback and punter for the Dallas Cowboys during the 1980s.
Don't think for a second somebody like Nagy wouldn't do something so unorthodox. All jokes aside though, it is interesting how good Trubisky is at this. It could make for an interesting method of catching opponents off guard. Make it look like the offense is going for it on 4th down, only to have him pooch punt the ball with no return man back.
Then again, one would have the same threat given how strong of an arm O'Donnell has too.
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