Mitch Trubisky’s fifth-year option is not a loyalty oath for the Bears to embrace or decline.
That happened two months ago — and Trubisky failed.
The Bears’ decision in March to trade a fourth-round pick for the privilege of paying veteran quarterback Nick Foles at least $21 million over three years spoke volumes. The blind loyalty shown Trubisky through the first years of his career was over.
A paperwork decision — which general manager Ryan Pace has refused to discuss publicly but is due Monday — doesn’t change a thing.
Trubisky, and all other 2017 first-round picks, must be informed before Tuesday whether his team will pick up the fifth year of his rookie contract, for the 2021 season. Trubisky’s option would cost the Bears $24.8 million but is guaranteed only for injury. As long as Trubisky can pass a physical in March 2021, the Bears could cut him then with no penalty.
Still, it’s unlikely the Bears will pick up the option. The Bears can’t even guarantee he’ll be the starter this year, much less 2021.
Giving him the fifth-year option would prove troublesome even in the best-case scenario. If Trubisky fares well in 2020 and plays the next year at $24.8 million, the Bears would have $34.1 million committed to the position, between he and Foles, in 2021. No team in the sport had more money tabbed for quarterback last year.
Extrapolate that scenario further: if the Bears pick up the option, and Trubisky plays well, they’d likely want to give him a contract extension in 2021 rather than pay such a high cap hit. Trubisky likely would want what the Eagles gave Carson Wentz, the No. 2 overall pick from the previous draft class: $66.5 million guaranteed. Would the Bears be comfortable paying so much, based off one solid 2020?
For quarterbacks, the fifth-year option is often used as a template for a long-term deal. The Chiefs and Texans picked up the options for Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson this week — both were cheaper than Trubisky’s, amazingly — but neither player plans to play 2021 under that salary. They’ll negotiate lucrative — and in Mahomes’ case, record-setting — extensions before they even play a down in 2021.
Monday’s decision will give Bears fans one last excuse to rub Pace’s nose in the fact that he traded four picks to move up one spot and draft Trubisky — and not Mahomes or Watson — three years ago. They’ll point out Trubisky is likely to be the highest-drafted quarterback of the fifth-year option era, which began in 2011, to have his option declined at the deadline. Robert Griffin III, another second overall pick, had his option picked up but was cut by the Redskins the following March. Trubisky figures to become the highest-drafted player to have his fifth-year option declined since fellow Rams tackle Greg Robinson, a fellow No. 2 pick, three years ago.
They will be right. But Pace’s decision won’t provide finality, one way or the other. Picking up the option won’t guarantee that Trubisky stays a Bear in 2021. Declining it doesn’t promise that he leaves.
Three years ago, Pace declined the fifth-year option for cornerback Kyle Fuller, who had missed a full season in 2016 due to injury and generally struggled as a pro. After a standout 2017, the Bears gave him the transition tag in 2018 and, after the Packers submitted an offer, kept him on a four-year, $56 million contract.
Last year, the Bears picked up outside linebacker Leonard Floyd’s fifth-year option. They cut him in March before he could play his fifth season with the club — choosing to use the money earmarked for him on Robert Quinn and his 80½ career sacks.
Foles was the team’s other major offseason addition. Rather than trade for Andy Dalton — whom the Bengals released this week — the Bears gave up a fourth-round pick and convinced Foles to take what the quarterback himself called a “crazy restructure” of his contract. Foles agreed to rework his deal because the possibility of fighting Trubisky for the starting job was more appealing than challenging second-year player Gardner Minshew on a rebuilding team.
He has faith he’ll earn playing time here. They Bears seem to agree — they gave up serious money and real assets to land Foles. Parting with a fourth-round pick seems even steeper after a draft in which the Bears so valued mid-round picks that they moved up once in the fifth round and traded a future pick for another fifth-rounder.
Last year, Pace committed to picking up Floyd’s option four months before the deadline. This offseason, he’s refused to talk about Trubisky’s contract in each of his five media gatherings. He took the same tack with receiver Kevin White before declining the draft bust’s option.
After trading for — and then paying — Foles, the GM probably knows he doesn’t have to say anything. His actions are speaking for themselves.
