Ryan Pace has changed his tune. In late February, at the NFL Scouting Combine, the Chicago Bears general manager said he was committed to quarterback Mitchell Trubisky as the team’s starter. Friday morning, Pace and head coach Matt Nagy met with the media via conference call to discuss the team’s recent free agency acquisitions, quarterback Nick Foles and defensive end Robert Quinn, as well as the upcoming NFL season.
Pace revealed immediately — without being asked — that “with the addition of Nick Foles, it’s exactly what we talked about from the start — we want to create competition. We’ve talked to both players, and it’s an open competition.”
Pace: “With the addition of Nick Foles it’s exactly what we talked about from the start – we want to create competition. We’ve talked to both players and it’s an open competition.”
While Pace noted in February that the team was going to bring in competition for Trubisky, he also doubled down on Mitch as the team’s starter. Now, a little over a month later, things have changed at Halas Hall with the addition of Foles. But, according to Nagy, who said he spoke to the fourth-year quarterback, Trubisky is already embracing the challenge.
Nagy on Mitch Trubisky: He’s Had ‘An Unbelievable Personality Throughout It’
Nagy told reporters during the conference call that he had spoken to both quarterbacks about the upcoming competition, and he seemed impressed with the attitudes of both. Saying Trubisky was embracing the competition with Foles, Nagy revealed Trubisky told his head coach he was going “give you everything I got. Gonna compete.”
Nagy also revealed that while the competition was going to be competitive and equal, Trubisky would be the first quarterback to take snaps. The two QBs will get equal reps, but Trubisky will throw the first pitch, so to speak.
Mitch Trubisky will take the first snap. So he’s *technically* the 1. “But at the same time it’s going to be equal,” Matt Nagy said.
Nagy says of Mitch: he embraced it. Told Nagy he was “gonna give you everything I got. Gonna compete.”
Nagy says when the team does take the field this offseason, Mitch Trubisky will be the #1 guy in the huddle, to start.
Some wondered whether Foles, who has spent the majority of his career as a backup, would start off in the same role behind Trubisky heading into the 2020 NFL season. Pace and Nagy answered that question before it was even asked.
Pace on Trubisky’s Fifth-Year Option: Still Won’t Commit
When asked whether the team was going to pick up Trubisky’s fifth-year option, Pace remained non-committal. Pace refused to comment on it, saying only that the decision would be made by the May deadline. The Athletic‘s Adam Jahns noted that it would be a shock at this point if the team decided to pick it up.
Ryan Pace said the #Bears will not comment on Mitch Trubisky’s fifth-year option. He says decision will be made by May. But at this point, I think we’d all be surprised if it gets picked up.
Nagy also told the media that unlike years prior, he plans on playing both Foles and Trubisky throughout the preseason. He received a great deal of criticism after refusing to play Trubisky or many of his starters in the preseason last year, so his shift to increased playing time for the young quarterback this upcoming preseason signals change could be coming to the Bears.
As for Foles, Nagy knows him well, and it was evident how much the Bears’ coach appreciates the veteran QB. Nagy called Foles a “special person” and said that the competition between him and Trubisky was “going to be a process evaluated over time.”
Nagy has worked with Nick Foles before and calls him “a special person.” On QB competition: “It’s going to be a process evaluated over time.”
While it’s unknown how the current coronavirus crisis will affect the quarterback competition moving forward, one thing is clear: the Bears want to win now, and they’re going to let the best quarterback win the job.
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Mitchell Trubisky Embracing ‘Open Competition’ With QB Nick Foles: Report