It’s no secret the Chicago Bears underperformed in 2019, finishing with a record of 8-8 and third place in the NFC North. But how did each individual player perform throughout the season?
This series will grade each Bears player for the 2019 regular season by their position. First up, the quarterbacks.
Mitchell Trubisky: D+
The most polarizing figure in Chicago sports, Mitchell Trubisky entered 2019 with high hopes after a season in which he threw 24 touchdowns and added three scores on the ground. The former second overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft showed signs of becoming an effective dual-threat option with his mobility outside of the pocket. Would he take the next step in his third season in the league and become the franchise quarterback Bears fans have been waiting years for?
Absolutely not. Trubisky floundered in 2019 for most of the year, unwilling to push the ball down the field and limiting the Bears offense, which finished at the bottom of the league in nearly every statistical category. When he did throw downfield, he missed wide-open receivers on a consistent basis. Whether the issue fell more on Trubisky’s play or coach Matt Nagy’s play calling, the QB clearly wasn’t able to effectively execute the coach’s game plan.
Trubisky did have a couple of games late in the season where he flashed the potential the Bears front office continues to rave about, and he was hurt by the ineffectiveness at the tight end position. But make no mistake, he was awful in 2019. Through his first seven games of the season, Trubisky accounted for just five touchdowns. His late surge saw him finish the season with 17 touchdowns (27th in the NFL), 3138 yards (21st) and a quarterback rating of 83.0 (28th).
Chase Daniel: C
Chase Daniel is what he is at this point: A quarterback who can fill in with a spot-start to keep the train on the tracks, but won’t wow you with impressive arm strength or athleticism. He’s an average quarterback in this league and would be a dependable backup on a team, but won’t push for the starting job.
Daniel led the Bears to a victory against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4 (their only victory of the season against a team better than .500) when Trubisky left the game early in the first quarter due to a shoulder injury, but threw two costly picks the next week against the Oakland Raiders in a 24-21 loss. He appeared to operate Nagy’s offense more efficiently than Trubisky, but the unit could only go so far with his skillset.
Signed in 2018, Daniel was also brought in to help mentor Trubisky to work with him as he learns and masters the offense. Unfortunately, he seemed to fall short of that as evidenced by Trubisky’s grade. Evaluating his play on the field though, Daniel is the definition of an average backup quarterback who likely will be playing elsewhere in 2020 as he’ll enter free agency in March.
Tyler Bray: Incomplete
Serving as the third quarterback for the second-straight season, Tyler Bray never sniffed the field in the regular season, which means it’s difficult to assign a grade to someone who literally didn’t play a snap. Like Daniel, though, Bray will be a free agent and unless the Bears see something in him that makes him a valuable asset in the quarterback room, he’ll likely be looking for a new job next season as well.
