CHICAGO _ Mitch Trubisky will be the Bears starting quarterback in 2020 and the struggles of the offense this season were not all on him.
That is the overriding message general manager Ryan Pace delivered Tuesday morning at Halas Hall. He stopped short of saying the franchise will exercise the fifth-year option in the quarterback's contract that could pay him an estimated $24 million in 2021, but it would be stunning if the Bears didn't do that after committing to Trubisky for next season.
Pace made it clear the Bears remain invested in making it work with the 25-year-old Trubisky, whom the team traded up to draft No. 2 overall in 2017.
"I think it's a growth as a young quarterback," Pace said. "There's a growth process."
Pace said he believes all quarterbacks develop at different rates and the perception isn't good for the Bears as Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City and Deshaun Watson in Houston _ drafted in the same class as Trubisky _ have developed into stars.
"I don't think we're there yet," Pace said when asked where the evaluation of Trubisky, who started only one season at North Carolina, went wrong.
Pace said it's too early to say what the team will do with the fifth-year option but the Bears have to inform Trubisky one way or the other in writing by May 5. If the Bears are going to commit to him for 2020, it's a near lock they will keep 2021 in play with him.
The fifth-year option will not affect anything next season. If the Bears announced they were declining the option, they would be signaling to Trubisky they have little to no faith in his future. By exercising this option, they're keeping alive the hope he can turn into late bloomer at the position but it's a move that will come with risk, albeit one that isn't performance-related.
Trubisky will count $9,237,591 against the team's salary cap in 2020 and the $29,032,424, final year of the four-year contract is fully guaranteed. What the fifth-year option does mean, though, is that Trubisky stands to earn nearly as much money in 2021 with the fifth-year option estimated to be about $24 million as he did through the first four years of the contract.
The fifth-year option is guaranteed for injury only at the outset. Meaning, the Bears could get out from under the commitment if they deem his play in 2020 does not warrant that level of pay in 2021. The fifth-year option would become fully guaranteed if he's on the team's roster on the first day of the 2021 league year. But if Trubisky were to suffer a severe injury this coming season, the team would be on the hook for the big number in 2021.
Trubisky led the Bears on a game-winning drive in Sunday's season-ending 21-19 victory over the Vikings but it came against Minnesota's reserves. The offense struggled throughout the season. Trubisky finished 28th among the league's 32 qualifiers in passer rating at 83.0. He was last in yards per attempt. The Bears finished 31st in yards per play and were 29th in scoring and 29th in total offense. Trubisky is 23-18 as a starter in 41 career regular-season starts.
