Could the quarterback competition in Chicago be the best thing that has happened to Mitchell Trubisky? The News-Herald, a Cleveland-area newspaper, spoke to Kade McClure, who grew up with Trubisky and attended Mentor High School with the quarterback. The two played both football and basketball together in high school, and he knows Trubisky quite well.
McClure, who is currently a pitching prospect for the Chicago White Sox, provided some insight into how his friend and former teammate is handling the Bears bringing in veteran Nick Foles to compete for the starting job. And as it turns out, the presence of Foles may be exactly what the fourth-year QB needs to finally take that next step.
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McClure on Trubisky: ‘I Don’t Think He’s Too Worried’
McClure told the News-Herald that he has been communicating with Trubisky recently, and he shared how Trubisky reacted after the Bears acquired Foles via trade. “I texted Mitch right after all of that, and he was like, ‘Let’s go! Let’s go!’ ” McClure said. “Mitch is a competitive and confident guy. I don’t think he’s too worried about Nick Foles. He’s motivated more than ever, and definitely not going to bow down to (Foles). I know this, Mitch will fight and compete.”
He also noted that he hasn’t seen Trubisky this confident since … well, ever.
“Mitch knows he had a down year,” McClure said. “But his confidence is at an all-time high … he’s in full football mode.”
Mitch Trubisky Has Never Been Truly Challenged in Chicago
GettyFormer Chicago Bears backup quarterback Chase Daniel was a mentor to Trubisky, but never serious competition. (Getty images).
Trubisky has never been challenged for the starting job after he took over for Mike Glennon four weeks into the 2017 season. The Bears paid Chase Daniel $10 million for his work as mentor and backup to Trubisky from 2018-2019, but the team never intended for Daniel to challenge their former second-overall pick. That won’t be the case with Foles, who has vowed he will be giving it everything he has in order to win the starting job.
Should Trubisky succeed and find a way to beat Nick Foles out for the starting job, that really would be the best case scenario for the Bears. He’s only 25, and his athleticism is undeniable even by his most vocal critics. But he’ll need to figure out how to read defenses while also getting his accuracy issues in check first. Trubisky hasn’t played with enough consistency to be given the position without earning it, and the Bears are certainly making him do that after bringing in a more talented veteran than Chase Daniel while also declining his fifth-year option.
If Trubisky’s newfound confidence translates to the football field, the Bears and their fans will finally have their franchise quarterback. That’s a big if, but the presence of Foles seems to have lit a fire under Trubisky that wasn’t there before.
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Bears’ QB Mitchell Trubisky ‘Not Going to Bow Down’ to Nick Foles