Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Mitch Trubisky is likely playing his last season with the Chicago Bears in 2020. His future is murky at best.
The Chicago Bears are ready to be done with Mitch Trubisky. They’ve already said as much.
By declining Trubisky’s fifth-year option in May, Chicago general manager Ryan Pace admitted what the football world has known for years. He missed.
While everyone eagerly points out Trubisky was taken ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, the time has come to move on. It’s done.
What’s more interesting is what happens from here for the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Trubisky is fighting with Nick Foles for the starting job. Considering Foles is signed with guaranteed money through 2022 and Trubisky had his option declined, there’s strong reason to believe Foles wins the spot. If so, the North Carolina product rides pine for a season before hitting free agency at age 26.
Looking at this offseason, Trubisky compares well with Marcus Mariota. A starter who eventually lost his job to a veteran, Mariota sat on the bench in Tennessee during his final year with the Titans. In March, he was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders on a two-year, $17.6 million deal to back up Derek Carr.
Like Trubisky, Mariota was a former No. 2 overall pick who didn’t quite find his footing. Still, he landed a lucrative reserve job with a team housing a shaky starter. Trubisky, barring a renaissance in 2020, would do well to find himself in the same position a year from now.
Of course, all this is tinged with regret for Chicagoians. The past belongs there, but Bears fans certainly feel pain every time Mahomes or Watson performs a magic act. Meanwhile, Chicago is wasting a phenomenal defense and Allen Robinson’s prime years watching Trubisky flounder.
Perhaps soon enough, Trubisky won’t be in uniform anymore to remind them of the error.