Bears coach Matt Nagy doesn’t see the use in shutting down Mitch Trubisky.
The quarterback doesn’t, either.
And neither should you.
If Trubisky’s right hip pointer keeps him out for Sunday’s game against the Giants — or beyond — the Bears will have committed a sin worse than losing or missing field goals or gaining 27 feet of total offense in the first half of a game.
They will be, for the first time in three seasons, boring to the point of irrelevance.
Thus far this season, evaluating Trubisky has been like watching squirrels try to climb up a birdfeeder. Sometimes they do something spectacular, usually they fall to the ground. Either way, it’s entertaining.
The offense has been dull all season; it ranks third-to-last with 262.7 yards per game and 4.3 yards per play, and fifth-to last with 16.9 points per game.
Still, the promise — or threat? — of Trubisky taking even a small step gives each remaining game some sort of say in the future of the franchise. It gives the games stakes.
The Bears will, at minimum, find a veteran to compete with him for next year’s starting job. This will be the last true test of Trubisky’s value — and the last extended playing time to show it. Bad though he may be, Trubisky is the only reason for Bears fans to pay attention the next six weeks.
If he’s not on the field, what is there to watch? Backup quarterback Chase Daniel, who’s not under contract next year? David Montgomery’s race to average more than 50 yards in a game? Edge rusher Khalil Mack trying to beat yet another triple-team block?
The Bears tried to build this year’s team to win now. Only two starters are slated to become unrestricted free agents in March — safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and inside linebacker Danny Trevathan. Nick Kwiatkoski, who has filled in ably for Trevathan since he hurt his left elbow, will be a free agent, too.
Because of that stability, the Bears will have little motivation to test out developmental players during an otherwise-meaningless final six games. Can they interest you in Ivy League rookie Jesper Horsted at tight end? Receiver Riley Ridley? Probably not.
It’s been since the season finale on New Year’s Day, 2017 — your starting quarterback against the Vikings: Matt Barkley — that Bears games have been so irrelevant. Mike Glennon’s 1-3 start to the 2017 season featured an opener lost when Jordan Howard dropped a ball at the 1; an overtime win against the Steelers; and a loss to the rival Packers. Trubisky took over for Game 5 and took every snap the rest of the season. On a 5-11 team so bad that it got John Fox fired, Trubisky’s play was essential to the franchise’s future. Every snap the Bears took in 2018 was part of a playoff chase.
And now? A team that began the season with Super Bowl aspirations has a 1-in-100 chance of making the playoffs, according to Football Outsiders. The rest of the season will be a slog.
The Bears need Trubisky to be part of that march to the season’s inevitable end — even if he’s limping all the way.
NOTE: The Bears waived outside linebacker James Vaughters and signed running back Jeremy McNichols and outside linebacker Dewayne Hendrix to the practice squad. The team had an extra practice squad spot after the Steelers signed away running back Kerrith Whyte on Saturday.
