Chicago Bears: Splitting reps between Mike Glennon and Mitch Trubisky a wise move
The Chicago Bears appear willing to give Mitch Trubisky practice time during the regular season to ensure his continued development. And that’s a smart move on their part.
When the Chicago Bears drafted Mitch Trubisky second overall in this year’s draft, they knew he needed time to develop before he could start in the NFL. As such, Dowell Loggains has wasted no time putting him through his paces at Bears rookie camp, which started yesterday. In a bigger reveal, however, Loggains discussed plans to get Trubisky practice tIme later in the season as well.
"We have to be really smart with our plan and how we practice, because it’s not just one guy, it’s two guys and there’s Mark and there’s Connor,” Loggains said. “So we need to make sure that we’re getting everyone ready to play"
Some might look at this and immediately think “quarterback controversy!” But personally, I see a wise move that’s far less problematic than it appears and only helps the Bears going forward.
Now, before anyone gets irrationally upset, this news would not mean the Bears do, or should, have a quarterback controversy on their hands. Ryan Pace signed Mike Glennon to be the Bears’ starting quarterback, and so he shall remain, barring something unforeseen. There’s no reason to assume otherwise yet, even if Trubisky performs well in training camp. Why rush things with their prized franchise quarterback?
That aside, however, helping Mitch Trubisky get better at football should be near the top of the Chicago Bears’ priority list at all times. And that won’t be happening if the Bears allocate quarterback reps solely to Glennon during the season, which would be standard operating procedure. Trubisky must have chances to practice and develop his craft, whether they intend to play him this year or not.
And that doesn’t mean sacrificing Glennon’s development altogether, either. You don’t need to remind me that Glennon only has 18 career starts and is learning a new offense. As such, no one’s advocating a 50/50 split between Glennon and Trubisky. If that’s happening, there’s something up. But assuming all goes to plan and Glennon stays the starter all year, 90/10 works. Glennon can’t really complain about giving up five plays or so per practice, can he?
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Now, why does all this matter if Trubisky’s not even supposed to play this year?
Well, for one, if the Bears learned anything last year, it’s that any plan can go sideways quickly. Jay Cutler was not supposed to miss 11 games last year. Brian Hoyer wasn’t supposed to break his arm. And Matt Barkley shouldn’t have finished 2016 as the Bears’ starting quarterback. But those things happened. So unless you really like Mark Sanchez, wouldn’t you prefer Trubisky be as ready as possible if Glennon went down?
Also, sometimes you don’t know what you have in players until you see them in person. No one really expected Carson Wentz to start over Sam Bradford in Philadelphia as a rookie. But Wentz’s rapid progress plus Teddy Bridgewater‘s untimely injury changed the game, as the Eagles traded Bradford and gave Wentz the keys to the car. I’m not suggesting that the Bears would be so eager to dump Glennon in such a situation, or even that they could. But don’t assume that Trubisky can’t similarly gain the Bears’ confidence and force his way onto the field sooner than expected.
Wentz isn’t the only example of a supposed project breaking into the starting lineup early either. Some unheralded dude named Russell Wilson supplanted Matt Flynn right after he signed a big contract with Seattle in 2012. It might be risky, but it does work sometimes.
And let’s be very clear here: Trubisky, not Glennon, is the Bears’ future at quarterback. Glennon is basically a one-year, $18.5 million insurance policy against rushing the rookie into action. If he’s bad in 2017, the Bears probably cut him outright before next season starts. If he’s good, they’ll dangle him in trades and see if they can secure more 2018 draft picks.
Other than those possibilities, I don’t think the Bears will have many plans for him as a member of their team in 2018. I never thought they considered him a potential franchise quarterback. That’s why they drafted Trubisky. And even if he doesn’t play this year, I absolutely believe the Bears want him to start in 2018. If he’s going to do that, he needs to be as prepared as possible. That means setting the clipboard down and getting behind center every once in a while.
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So don’t buy narratives about quarterback controversies in Chicago right now. The pecking order is set. Glennon is the starter. No one is eager to feed Trubisky to the Falcons just yet.
But Trubisky is the future, and that future is coming sooner than you think. It would behoove the Chicago Bears, and Trubisky, to be ready when it arrives. That means he has to practice all season long. And it seems that’s exactly what will happen.