Getty The Chicago Bears have made their final decision about quarterback Mitch Trubisky's fifth-year option.
Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is about to see something he has not seen since his rookie season in 2017: competition. Bears’ GM Ryan Pace met with the media for the first time in 2020, and while he still endorsed Trubisky as the team’s starter moving forward, Pace also revealed that the team will be looking to add competition at every position — including quarterback.
“We believe in him,” Pace said about Trubisky. “We’re going to support him. We’re going to be better around him. But I think competition brings out the best in everybody.”
Ryan Pace said of Mitchell Trubisky: “We believe in him. We’re going to support him. We’re going to be better around him. But I think competition brings out the best in everybody.”
Pace also seemed committed to helping Trubisky improve by making everyone around him better. “We need to be better around him,” Pace added in reference to Mitch. Still, Pace refused to commit to Trubisky’s fifth-year option, saying the team would make that decision in May. Members of the media remain divided as to whether Pace is fully endorsing Trubisky, or whether he is doing so only in public while privately planning on pursuing someone who could eventually take Trubisky’s spot.
When it came time to endorse Leonard Floyd’s fifth-year option last season, Pace didn’t hesitate to do so, and he has had two opportunities to commit to Trubisky’s fifth-year option so far and has not.
Bears GM Ryan Pace reaffirms the team’s commitment to QB Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky will open as the Bears’ starter in 2020, per Pace.
The REAL takeaway from the Pace/Trubisky questions… Pace is delaying the 5th year option until May. Under the proposed CBA, that option would be fully guaranteed not just for injury. His words say all-in on Mitch, but his actions don’t. Don’t believe February words from a GM.
Ryan Pace said today that they go through this process chronologically, so no decision has been made on Mitch Trubisky’s 5th-year-option.
Ryan Pace announced in January last year that they would pick up Leonard Floyd’s 5th-year-option.
While Trubisky will likely be the team’s projected starter in 2020, Pace’s repeated assertion that the team plans on adding competition at the position is notable, if only because adding quarterbacks to compete with rather than back up Trubisky is something he’s never done before.
Pace and Nagy brought Chase Daniel into the fray in 2018, but not to compete with Trubisky — Daniel was merely a serviceable backup, and he will be playing somewhere else next season, so whomever the Bears bring in next will likely be a step up from Daniel.
Ryan Pace Says Mitch Trubisky Still Needs to Work On Understanding Coverages
Pace also noted in his presser that while the team has been happy with Trubisky, and they love him as both a player and a person, he does want the QB to work on a few things this offseason. The primary weaknesses Pace wants Trubisky to strengthen are both significant: he wants Mitch to better understand and read coverages, and he wants the fourth-year quarterback to master Matt Nagy’s offense and completely understand the scheme.
Both are a bit concerning considering Trubisky now has two full years as a starter in Nagy’s system, and almost three full years as a starter in the league.
When it came time for him to speak to the media, Bears head coach Matt Nagy reiterated the team’s desire to push Trubisky via competition at the position. When asked if he wants his quarterback to feel like someone could take his starting job, Nagy replied: “I want everyone to feel that way.”
Does Matt Nagy want Mitch Trubisky to feel like someone could take his starting job?
‘I want everyone to feel that way,’ he said
The moves the Bears make at the quarterback position remain to be seen, but they are most definitely coming.
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Bears GM and Head Coach Matt Nagy Are About to Put Pressure on QB Mitchell Trubisky