The Bears are putting their faith in the Messiah of the Midway. After just four games, Chicago is benching Mike Glennon and turning to Mitchell Trubisky, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Dan Graziano.
Benching Glennon is a remarkable turnaround after the team handed him a three-year, $45 million contract in March. The Bears came thisclose to beating the Falcons in Week 1, and they knocked off the Steelers in Week 3, but Glennon may have been hurting those causes more than helping. His passing numbers were mediocre and over four games he fumbled or was intercepted 10 times.
(Pictured: The Bears giving Mike Glennon $18.5 million guaranteed in March.)
Now the Bears will play Trubisky. The former Tar Heel has started 13 football games at any level since 2013. The Bears gave up their 2017 third- and fourth-round picks as well as a 2018 third-rounder to move up one spot to grab Trubisky in a deal that might prove worse than the Glennon contract (because at least that’s only money). Rookie quarterbacks have adjusted well (Deshaun Watson) and less well (DeShone Kizer) this season. Trubisky will now become the next rookie charged with leading his team from the depths of ineptitude.
The risk of starting rookie quarterbacks too early in their careers is that they may develop bad habits while playing in bad offenses. Trubisky had an excellent preseason debut in which he showed off mobility that allowed him to extend plays outside the pocket, and the Bears will need to tinker with their offense to encourage that style of play. That will be harder than it sounds. Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen are promising young running backs, but the Bears’ wide receiving corps has already suffered a number of injuries, including the losses of Cameron Meredith and Kevin White.
The Bears need to maximize Trubisky’s effectiveness, but more importantly make sure that his growth isn’t stunted in the quest to win a couple of games in a lost season. The Bears have a lot of time to prep Trubisky between their Thursday night game against the Packers in Week 4 and their game against the Vikings next Monday, but a divisional rivalry on Monday Night Football against one of the best defenses in the league isn’t an easy way to start a career, even with extra time to practice. This coming Monday is the beginning of the Bears’ next chapter, whether or not Trubisky is ready.
