The coronavirus pandemic has thrown everything into a flux, including the sports landscape. Most professional sports leagues have temporarily suspended their seasons, but the NFL has moved forward with free agency and the upcoming NFL Draft will be conducted in a fully virtual format.
The NFL insists that the 2020 season will start on time, but there’s no guarantee. Even if that were so, the offseason training programs would be cut short. And that doesn’t serve to help these athletes.
ESPN took a look at the one player from each NFL team that serves to be hurt most by an unorthodox offseason. For the Bears, that’s quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who will be battling Nick Foles for the starting quarterback job.
Trubisky must show serious improvement to fend off veteran Nick Foles, whom the Bears owe $21 million in guarantees. How can Trubisky truly improve without a full offseason program? Good question. Trubisky’s uneven play last season forced Chicago to trade its fourth-round compensatory pick to Jacksonville for Foles, a former Super Bowl MVP who played under Bears coach Matt Nagy in Philadelphia and Kansas City. Chicago’s faith in Trubisky is clearly shaken. Not having an opportunity to work with teammates and coaches in the offseason will not help the former No. 2 overall pick get back in the organization’s good graces.
While Trubisky was far from the only issue on offense in 2019, he was arguably the most disappointing aspect of it. Rather than progressing in his third season — second under Matt Nagy — Trubisky regressed to the point where the Bears had to bring in a veteran to compete with him for the starting job.
Trubisky is coming off shoulder surgery on his non-throwing arm, but he was still expected to get some work in with teammates, including Allen Robinson this offseason. That’s not going to happen now, and those are missed opportunities for Trubisky.
