Chicago Bears: Trubisky injury puts team in unwinnable position

The Chicago Bears are in a lose-lose situation with Mitch Trubisky’s injury.

Unfortunately, the Chicago Bears are in a difficult spot following Mitchell Trubisky‘s shoulder injury. Initial reports were that he may be able to give it a go against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. As the game drew near, he was declared out, but it was noted that he would have likely played if the game was Sunday.

This was encouraging news for fans who might have worried it was something serious. However, the team insisted it was nothing to be concerned about. Certainly, if he would have been able to play, he would be fine for the following week’s game against the New York Giants, right?

Well, that was a reasonable thought at the time. However, after he failed to practice (despite what the official report said) on Wednesday, it became less likely he would play on Sunday. It also became more worrisome for fans who understand that despite how good this defense is, the team will need the right arm of Trubisky if they want to advance in the playoffs.

So it goes without saying that whatever anxious feelings existed amongst fans were only exacerbated when it was announced he would not play against the Giants, and still hasn’t thrown a ball since his final pass sailed out of bounds against the Minnesota Vikings almost two weeks ago.

Just as the team has done this year with the Khalil Mack and Allen Robinson injuries, they are taking a cautious approach with Mitch. This is a completely understandable position. They have a lot invested in Mitch and realize there is still a lot of season left and they want to make sure he’s right down the stretch.

At the same time, the move leaves them open to a lot of criticism, especially when there is at least some ambiguity as to whether he could give it a go this weekend. Trubisky met with the media on Thursday and was asked point-blank whether he can throw. His answer left me with the impression that he could but the Bears are being extra cautious. Take a listen below and decide for yourself.

The best case scenario is Chase Daniel is able to will the team to victory one more time and the Bears head into a primetime matchup with the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field. However, they will be doing it (if he can play) with an extremely rusty quarterback, who by his own admission, is a repetition guy — meaning he needs the reps to be at his best each week. He certainly won’t have many before next week’s game.

The alternative, however, is to put him out there and unnecessarily risk further injury in a game they should be able to win without him. If that were to happen, the decision makers would most definitely be criticized.

So you see, no matter what the organization does, they will be open to much criticism. And each course of action comes with its advantages and disadvantages. However, the front office and staff have decided that this direction is best for the team in the long term. I can’t say I disagree with that logic.

Regardless of the decision they made, there were going to be risks. At this point, fans simply have to hope the eventual rewards outweigh those risks and Mitch is able to shake off any rust before the Rams come to town.