Chicago Bears: Mike Glennon should embrace challenge from Mitchell Trubisky

While some say Chicago Bears quarterback Mike Glennon felt cheated on by the team in its drafting of Mitchell Trubisky, he should embrace the challenge and fight for his job.

The Chicago Bears shocked the NFL world by giving up so much and drafting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Not many felt Trubisky was even on general manager Ryan Pace’s radar. Also, considering they just gave some good money to veteran quarterback Mike Glennon, giving up a treasure seems contradictory to building a winning team.

The shock also hit Glennon. The Chicago Tribune reported that he felt “cheated on by the team” because of the pick. Should he feel that way, however?

By all indications, Glennon is the starter at quarterback in 2017. The job is his to lose.

Glennon needs to embrace the challenge thrown at him by Trubisky. At the moment, HE has a big advantage. He knows the NFL way — he knows what coaches expect, and he knows the speed of the game. He needs to keep grinding. That’s what has him in the NFL in the first place. He wasn’t an overly decorated player coming out of college. In fact, he was a third-round draft pick. Not a lot was expected of him when he got to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Glennon had to grind when he became a starter. Then, when he lost his job, he had to work just to stay on the team.

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This is not the first time Glennon goes through something like this. The Bucs drafted Jameis Winston to be their starter, relegating Glennon to backup status. He’s feeling some deja vu now.

Instead of getting lost in his feelings he needs to continue to work with his receivers, learn the offense and play like gangbusters once the season begins.

Competition breeds better play. The harder Trubisky works, the more he pushes Glennon. The more Glennon is pushed, the harder he works. In a best-case scenario, the Bears get two quality quarterbacks. It won’t happen, though, if Glennon drops his head and feels sorry for himself.

No one will feel sorry for Glennon because of the contract he signed. It comes with the territory. Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe spoke about not feeling bad for Glennon on his show Undisputed (via FoxSports.com).

"I ain’t got no sympathy. How can I have sympathy for a man making a million dollars a week? $18.5, guaranteed. $18.5!“Cheat on me! Cheat me. I want you to cheat me. Give me $18.5, give me a million dollars a week. That’s what he’s making. “Think about it, Mike Glennon. Think about how you ended up in Chicago. If you were as good as you thought you were, they would have never drafted Jameis Winston. You haven’t started a game since 2014. You were so bad that Tampa was in position to get the No. 1 pick. They got Jameis Winston."

Sharpe also spoke about former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Flynn. He backed up Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, then signed a big contract with Seattle. The Seahawks then drafted Russell Wilson right after signing Flynn. Flynn could not handle the “disrespect” and lost his starting job before the start of the season.

Glennon needs to avoid that. Okay, the Bears showed they aren’t as secure with you as you originally felt. Go out and earn that security. One of two things happen — he plays so well that Trubisky doesn’t get a chance, or he plays well, but the Bears feel compelled to play Trubisky. In the second scenario, Glennon still comes out well. He’ll be in demand.

Glennon needs to realize this is a business. Pace hedged his bet. He thinks he can get one or both of these quarterbacks to do well. If one does, the Bears have their franchise quarterback. If both do, then the Bears also get a trade asset that can bring back some of those lost draft picks.

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