Ryan Pace crushed the hopes of several Chicago Bears fans when he declared Mitch Trubisky was expected to be the teams’ starter come the arrival of the 2020 season. Did he and head coach Matt Nagy really believe the team could get that much better with him still under center? They had a defense that gave up the 5th-fewest points in the league and the team still finished just 8-8. That paints a clear picture of how ineffective Trubisky and the offense was.

With the Packers and Vikings not going anywhere for the foreseeable future, it feels like the Bears are willingly in denial about the fact they once again have the worst quarterback in the division. With a lot of jobs appearing to be on the line next season, it seems like an insane idea for them to believe that some tweaks to the offense and coaching staff can suddenly get Trubisky playing like a reliable starter.

Some think this isn’t necessarily the case. Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog, who’s had interesting connections to this entire process, explained.

“On that point, it’s not hard to see the promotion of Dave Ragone to passing game coordinator and the hiring of both Flip and Bill Lazor as pro-Mitch Trubisky maneuvers. But I’ve been told explicitly that is not the case. Yes, the Bears have to prepare as if Mitch is the starting quarterback in September because there’s no GUARANTEE they can find a better option in free agency or the draft…Someone is coming to Chicago to compete with Mitch. And I find it hard to believe that person won’t win the job.”

Bears know finding an upgrade for Mitch Trubisky isn’t easy

By the sound of this, it seems the situation is less about whether the Bears want to end the Trubisky era and more whether they feel they can. At least this year. When Pace executed the trade for Khalil Mack in 2018, it was a clear indication that the team was taking a calculated risk. They believed that Trubisky could be their long-term quarterback and so poured a large number of future resources in both draft picks and money to fortify the roster.

It almost worked.

Trubisky had a solid year. The defense was dominant. Chicago went 12-4 and hosted a playoff game. If not for Cody Parkey, who knows where things might’ve gone. Instead, the Bears lost in heartbreaking fashion and Trubisky hasn’t been quite right since. There haven’t been any signs of progress in his understanding of Nagy’s complex offense. Give it’s been two years now, that’s not an encouraging sign.

The Bears find themselves in a difficult spot. They have no 1st round pick and a limited amount of wiggle room with their salary cap. This means they’d either have to make some sacrifices financially to go after a top free agent or they’d have to gamble that they can find somebody in the 2nd round of the draft who can overtake Trubisky.

Neither option is favorable.

This is why the Bears refused to commit to any change. They knew the state of things. It will take a lot of hard work and more than a little luck for them to land a legitimate quarterback. One who can provide them with steady, dependable play each week. Until that happens, Trubisky is the guy. This doesn’t mean they have no plans to seek an escape hatch.