Mitchell Trubisky Named Bears Starting Quarterback Over Nick Foles
Mitchell Trubisky has been named the Bears starting quarterback over Nick Foles and now the second guessing can begin.
The decision was first reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN.com but the Bears haven't yet confirmed it. A league source with knowledge of the situation, however, has confirmed Trubisky is the starter.
The Bears have a press conference planned for Sunday after practice to talk about the situation.
The Bears traded a fourth-round pick to get Foles into camp, but apparently he hasn't had the time to work into the offense to the extent that he could beat out Trubisky.
He'll be a backup quarterback, a role he's played often in the past.
Trubisky's improvement as a passer has been a major factor, as well, according to what Bears coaches have said about his throwing over the last three weeks.
The element of play calling was also mentioned by Nagy on Thursday.
"In regards to Nick, Nick and myself, we've never had a game together where I'm calling plays," Nagy said earlier this week. "So there's that unknown. When he was in Kansas City and Alex got hurt, he came in and coach (Andy) Reid was calling plays, there was a couple games that we played that was the case. I was always a quality control coach or quarterback coach with him. Actually I was the coordinator in '16 and the QB coach.
"So there's a little bit of that unknown so you have to build some trust. And I'd say with Mitch, I have two years of calling plays with him, and you have that and we built our own likes and dislikes together. With Nick you haven't necessarily gone through that. I know he's gone through it and built some great relationships over his career with certain coaches."
Nagy had said he wanted Trubisky to be a master of reading defenses this year but then backed off the requirement later.
Foles himself hinted at not having enough time to work into the offense due to COVID-19 restrictions wiping out the offseason work teams do.
"I'd say each and every day I'm getting more and more comfortable, the more we rep plays, the more we talk through them and just the more I get comfortable with the guys out there," Foles said. "I'd say that's happening every single day."
Ultimately, he was trying to win a quarterback job with only 15 practices running the actual offense.
"Yeah I mean it's been a really unique situation with everything going on in the world, and this year, and not having OTAs, and getting here," Foles said. "Everything's expedited.
"Not only are you trying to play football and learn this new offense, which has similarities to what I've done before, but there’s still a ton of new. You're also meeting a lot of new people and trying to build those relationships and learn their names while also learning the area, so all that pulls from your energy. It’s not the first time that I've done it, but it’s most expedited I would say."
The Bears have Saturday off as they make their cuts and Sunday have a practice as they begin to prepare to play the Detroit Lions on Sept. 13.
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