It’s not a question that the headline that will dominate training camp and preseason will be the quarterback competition between Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles.
Although, this certainly wasn’t the way the Bears had anticipated this offseason going amid the coronavirus pandemic. But despite the shortened offseason, Bears head coach Matt Nagy insists that Foles is in no way at a disadvantage heading into this quarterback battle.
Considering Foles’ experience in a Nagy-like offense, he’s been able to pick up pretty quickly with the digital playbook and through virtual meetings.
“It’s like riding a bike,” Nagy told reporters Friday. “He’s been through some different offenses, even from the last time we were together in Kansas City, but once you present somebody like Nick the playbook and they start looking at it, all of a sudden it just clicks.
“You start remembering it and you just start retraining your brain from what you knew in the past year or couple years… There’s still terminology differences between all of us, but that doesn’t take much. And Nick’s a smart guy.”
The Bears traded a fourth-round pick for Foles this offseason, a move which was widely criticized by NFL experts. But considering the circumstances of this offseason — which limits on-field activity during offseason workouts — the Bears made the move that was best for them.
Foles already has experience in this type of offense, dating back to his days in Kansas City and Philadelphia, which should make for a relatively seamless transition. While there are terminology differences with Nagy’s offense, Foles has a fundamental understanding of this offense, which could wind up being invaluable for the Bears should he win the starting quarterback job over Trubisky.
