Bears: Mitchell Trubisky benched for Chase Daniel, controversy ensues

The Chicago Bears likely kissed their season goodbye with a loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and may have said hello to a quarterback controversy.

After losing to the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 17-7 Sunday night, the Chicago Bears are now 4-6 and likely out of any playoff contention, barring a miracle.

The Bears saw a strong performance out of their defense, for the most part, while the offense could only muster seven points. The Bears garnered multiple takeaways in this one, defensively, but a pair of missed kicks by Eddy Pineiro and a general inability to finish drives killed Chicago’s offense.

Late in the fourth quarter on Sunday night, Bears head coach Matt Nagy had a conversation with his starting quarterback. During a commercial break, with under four minutes to go in the game, Nagy pulled Mitchell Trubisky aside.

While it’s unclear what was said, Trubisky looked upset. Following the break, it was Chase Daniel who took over in what was still just a 10-point game.

The Bears PR department announced a hip injury for Trubisky via Twitter, but he was not taken aside by trainers during the break — that’s what makes this interesting. Whether or not Trubisky has a serious enough hip injury to explain the benching could be the thing which makes all of the questions go away.

But, I found the move quite intriguing. Both Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth said Trubisky didn’t look hurt, nor was he treated on the sidelines for an injury. It was a simple, quick conversation between Nagy and Trubisky. Then, Daniel came into the game. Again, Trubisky was visibly upset following that conversation with his coach.

Going forward, I am sure we will hear more on Trubisky’s health. You can bet the Chicago media will be all over Nagy regarding this decision and the alleged hip injury suffered by his quarterback late in the game.

The Bears turn around and host the New York Giants next week at Soldier Field. Will it be Trubisky facing off against rookie Daniel Jones, or will Daniel wind up the starter? Regardless, Chicago’s season is officially a major disappointment and it might be time to start looking towards next year.