The MVP versus the Incumbent
Our next quarterback battle to watch comes from the Windy City, and a team that might be seeing its window closing before their eyes. Back in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears held the third-overall selection and needed a quarterback. Well, you probably know the rest of this story, but just in case you’ve been quarantined longer than the rest of us, with Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes on the board, Ryan Pace and the Bears traded up one spot in the draft to select Mitchell Trubsky, the third-team 2016 All-ACC performer.
The move has not exactly panned out as Bears fans have hoped.
When Trubisky struggled this past season, it became accepted by everyone inside and outside of the organization that competition was needed. It came in the form of a trade, as the Bears sent a fourth-round pick to Jacksonville in exchange for former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles.
Foles credits Matt Nagy with rekindling his love for the game, and putting him on a path to his title run with the Philadelphia Eagles. He knows Nagy’s offense and has shown an ability to come up big in pressure moments, even if he comes with a bit of high-variance to his play.
Now, in uncertain times and with questions about how extensive training camp might be, Pace and Nagy have perhaps one last season to make a run, or their seats will go from hot to non-existent. Perhaps the incumbent gets the first shot, but you have to imagine patience will be thin.
Especially with a former Super Bowl MVP waiting in the wings.