Part one in an 11-part review of the 2017 Bears season.

Nearly eight years and a month after trading for Jay Cutler, the Bears made the decision to go all-in on another quarterback when they traded up one spot to the No. 2 pick in the draft to select Mitch Trubisky.

No quarterback should get eight unfulfilled seasons to become a franchise quarterback as Cutler did, but the Bears — over the course of three administrations — created that situation for themselves. Thus the delayed effort to climb out of the hole they’ve been in for most of those eight seasons.

The selection of Trubisky and the investment of resources put into him created an imaginary divide between the front office and coach John Fox and his staff, something that became more and more real as the year played out. Fox was in a win-or-else situation in the third season of his four-year contract; general manager Ryan Pace effectively created more time for himself by identifying and acquiring the quarterback the Bears believe will lead them to relevancy (and hopefully much more) in the near future.

The Bears were content to allow Trubisky, who started only 13 games at North Carolina, to develop behind the scenes for the entire season provided things went smoothly for veteran Mike Glennon, who was signed at the outset of free agency to a $45 million, three-year contract that included $18.5 million guaranteed. Yes, even the McCaskeys were on board with the idea of their prized new addition carrying a clipboard for the full season.

From a practical standpoint, you don’t give the second overall pick a redshirt year. When Trubisky showed a comfort level in training camp, some positives in preseason and that he was grasping the information being presented, it became clear he would be able to play sooner rather than later.

When Glennon threw five interceptions and had three lost fumbles in the first four games as the Bears stumbled out of the gates with a 1-3 record against a pretty good slate of teams (Falcons, Buccaneers, Steelers, Packers), the move to Trubisky was made. The future was now.

Roll call: Mitch Trubisky (signed through 2020 with team holding option for 2021), Mike Glennon (signed through 2019), Mark Sanchez (unrestricted free agent).

2018 salary cap figures: Trubisky $6,598,281; Glennon $16 million.

2017 season review: The opportunity to start 12 games provided Trubisky with a good base moving forward. He will learn a new offense from a new coaching staff, but he’s seen a wide variety of looks and coverages he wasn’t exposed to in college, and that will help moving forward. He got better operating from the pocket as the season progressed. That was important, and he still needs to continue to improve in that area. He’s gifted athletically to throw on the run and get outside the pocket and create off-schedule plays. All of that is great, and it’s a bonus. The best quarterbacks in the league are elite operating from the pocket, though. Trubisky will need to ascend to that level in order for the Bears to have a player who can truly be special.

There’s no question the coaching staff kept the training wheels on Trubisky for parts of the season, especially when he was first inserted Oct. 9 against the Vikings. In his first three games, he attempted only 48 passes. The Bears defeated the Panthers 17-3 on Oct. 22 at Soldier Field when Trubisky was 4-for-7 passing for 107 yards, marking the first time since 1981 the Bears won a game completing four or fewer passes. How rare is only four or fewer completions (or less) in an NFL game? It was just the seventh time it happened since 1979.

How did every Bears player fare this season? And what is their contract status? A position-by-position look at the 2017 roster. (Colleen Kane, Rich Campbell) (Colleen Kane, Rich Campbell)

As buttoned up as the Bears were from the outset, Trubisky did have 30 or more pass attempts in seven of the final nine games. The offense was criticized for being too conservative and by extension too run-heavy and predictable. That was probably more the influence of Fox than offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. They ran the ball on 50.3 percent of snaps in the first half, the highest figure in the NFL. They ran 57.6 percent of the time on first-and-10, the seventh-highest figure in the NFL, although it’s not necessarily a bad thing if you can run it well. The Vikings led the NFL in this category. Overall, the Bears ranked ninth by running on 45.2 percent of all plays. Six playoff teams — the Jaguars (first), Bills (second), Panthers (fourth), Vikings (fifth), Titans (sixth) and Rams (seventh) — ran the ball more often than the Bears.

Trubisky’s greatest strength was an ability to protect the football, which was a welcome sight after Glennon’s turnovers got him sent to the bench more quickly than anyone imagined. In 330 pass attempts, Trubisky threw seven touchdowns with seven interceptions, an interception percentage of 2.1. For Bears quarterbacks with 200 or more pass attempts in a season, only Brian Hoyer (200 attempts, 0.0 percent, 2016), Josh McCown (224, 0.4, 2013), Erik Kramer (522, 1.9, 1995) and Jim Harbaugh (312, 1.9, 1990) have been better at avoiding interceptions since 1990.