Chicago Bears: Why Mitch Trubisky doesn’t need to play in preseason

With the Chicago Bears set to take on the New York Giants on Friday night, we look at why their signal-caller doesn’t need to play.

On Friday night, the Chicago Bears will take on the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in their second game of the preseason. Leading up to the affair, there has been a lot of talk about Mitchell Trubisky‘s performance in training camp.

Despite Matt Nagy’s comments to the contrary, there are many within the media citing a cause for concern, if not outright sounding the alarm bells. His performance has been described as “inconsistent” and “uneven” while others have wondered if there has been any difference in Mitch (good or bad) from last year to now.

Nagy, on the other hand, sounds a lot more confident in where not only Trubisky but the entire offense is at just three weeks before the regular-season opener.

After practice on Tuesday, Nagy was asked about the state of their offense following a meeting he had with Trubisky. Nagy replied “we’re in a phenomenal spot right now. I love where we’re at, not one thing has changed with our offense in general.”

Nevertheless, the question has been bandied about whether Trubisky’s “struggles” in camp could lead to Nagy playing him more in the preseason.

First, I’d challenge the assertion that Trubisky is struggling. He has thrown some interceptions and missed some passes, but Nagy insists it is a result of him trying to push the envelope on some throws, at his request. Besides, it’s not as if Trubisky is the only one throwing interceptions in training camp. Take a peek at the day Aaron Rodgers and Jimmy Garoppolo had on Wednesday. Talk about a giant yikes. Good thing the Bears reporters don’t cover the Green Bay Packers or they’d be calling for Deshone Kizer to takeover as QB1.

Second, what in the world does Mitch have to gain by playing in the preseason? Let’s assume for a second, just for the sake of argument, that he was struggling in camp. Do you think playing against vanilla defenses throwing basic coverages at the offense will have any benefit for Trubisky? Perhaps the better question is whether any perceived benefit outweighs the risks — which are significant — namely that Trubisky could end up injured and on the sidelines for an extended period of time.

Furthermore, let’s say Trubisky came out and performed well in the preseason. His detractors would be quick to point out it was against a second unit or a vanilla defense. If he played poorly, it would add more fuel to the fire and the detractors would feel “vindicated.” Even though none of it matters, and no conclusions can or should be drawn solely on performance in preseason games — that wouldn’t stop people from doing just that.

And the reality is the defense he faces on a daily basis, which not only is the best in the league but has an intimate knowledge of what the offense is looking to do, is a much stiffer test than anything he would get in a preseason game.