It is the greatest compliment and indictment of Mitch Trubisky as a quarterback to say that he did everything he possibly could. It just wasn’t enough.
Bears coach Matt Nagy benched Trubisky in the third quarter against the Falcons, and backup Nick Foles stepped in with three touchdown passes to pull off a 30-26 victory. Nagy said he’ll start Foles on Sunday against the Colts, which likely signals the end of Trubisky’s run with the Bears.
The team somewhat saw this coming when it declined his 2021 option five months ago, and Trubisky will almost certainly find a home elsewhere in free agency after this season.It was hard to tell how much of that sunk in for him in the aftermath of watching Foles take his job in Atlanta, when he was still processing the reality of being benched for performance for the first time in his career.
“This is still a team-first game, so if Nick’s the starter going forward, it is what it is and I’ve got to have his back just like he had mine,” Trubisky said. “It’s always team-first... I’ve gotta just continue to get better, work on my craft and make sure I’m pushing my teammates, because I’m still a leader on this team and I feel like guys still look at me.”
That approach has been typical of Trubisky throughout his time with the Bears, and it’s the reason neither his teammates nor the fans turned bitterly against him amid his on-field disappointments. If he had Jay Cutler’s personality, this whole experience would’ve gone down much differently.
Trubisky can’t be thrown in with other draft busts who underachieved and wasted their opportunity. He has done everything right in terms of effort and professionalism, all the way down to showing up for the press conference Sunday at a time when it’s never been easier for players to duck the media.
Imagine being in Trubisky’s position. He endured his most humiliating failure and demotion at work, likely having some sense that it essentially will get him fired at the end of the season, and now a few dozen people who constantly criticize him want to grill him over it.
“The fact of the matter was we weren’t doing too well in the first half, and Coach felt like taking me out would help us do better,” Trubisky said. “The only thing I can control is me playing better... and I didn’t do that, so I gave him the opportunity to pull me.
“You’ve just got to move forward, accept it and continue to be a great teammate. But it’s a tough deal sometimes.”
The entire circumstances of his time with the Bears have been a tough deal.
Trubisky isn’t to blame for general manager Ryan Pace trading up to take him No. 2 overall and bypassing stars in Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. He’s not the one who said he’d outshine those two.
It’s not on Trubisky that the Bears drafted him into a no-win situation with John Fox headed toward a firing and have cycled through three offensive coordinators in his four seasons. It’s not on him that he got as far as he did thanks in large part to his running ability, then was told “win from the pocket” nonstop.
Trubisky just isn’t good enough. It’s simple.
Not good enough to win from the pocket. Not good enough to keep up with the stars of his draft class. Not good enough the first three games of this season, and certainly not good enough for Nagy to bet the rest of it on him.
Maybe he gets another shot and makes good on it, like Ryan Tannehill did with the Titans, but it won’t be here. The Bears moved on Sunday — not just in that game, but permanently. It’ll be Foles for now, then the search for the next franchise quarterback starts anew.
