The most chastised player in the NFL after nine weeks of the 2019 season is, undoubtedly, Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky. With every bad decision and poor throw comes the reminder that he was drafted before DeShaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes in 2017.
Salt, meet wound.
Chicago's disappointing 3-5 start has been highlighted by the offense's failures, and when an offense fails, blame usually goes to the quarterback. Trubisky's been bad this year; there's no debating that. But he's still considered young by quarterback standards and with so much invested in him, making a change to Chase Daniel doesn't seem feasible.
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Former Falcons and Eagles quarterback Mike Vick agrees.
Vick, who appeared Monday on ESPN's 'Speak for Yourself,' said benching Trubisky would be a terrible decision.
“I think the worst thing for Mitch right now is to be benched,” Vick said. “He’s in his third year, and he’s an investment. For some quarterbacks it takes time. But I’ll say this, it’s Matt Nagy’s decision, and Matt Nagy is responsible for Mitch Trubisky. He’s responsible for making sure that this guy can go out and play better than what he played (vs. Eagles).”
Trubisky completed just 10-of-21 passes for 125 yards against Philadelphia in a game that was one of the worst offensive performances in recent team history. Still, Nagy said there was never a thought about making a switch under center.
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Vick suggested a pretty simple solution to fix Trubisky's woes.
“Dumb-down the offense, maybe that’s what it is,” he said. “You’ve got too much into the offense, take something out. But do the things that Mitch is comfortable with so he doesn’t go out and have a disappointing showing.”
How many more starts will the Bears give Trubisky to prove himself? If they lose another game or two, there's no reason to bench him. They'll be out of the playoff race and can use the rest of 2019 as a developmental year for him, if there's any development to be had.
But if Chicago somehow defeats the Lions on Sunday and, maybe, just maybe figures out how to upend the Rams on national television, the margin for error for Trubisky will shrink. Two wins would even-up the Bears' record at 5-5 and restore hope in a late-season push for the playoffs. And at that point in the year, there's no room for mistakes.
For now, Vick sees no reason to make a change.
“I don’t want to see him benched because I think that’s the worse thing you can do for a guy that’s in a funk,” Vick said. “He’s playing with no confidence. How do you give him confidence? You give him things he likes. Make him feel good about the game plan he’s doing."
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