When Ryan Pace addressed the media for the first time this year, he reaffirmed his belief in quarterback Mitchell Trubisky.
“We believe in Mitch,” Pace said at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday. “Mitch knows he needs to be better. We need to be better around him. And that’s our goal.”
Only, that declaration feels hollow considering how Pace once again remained vague about picking up Trubisky’s fifth-year option. While Pace didn’t necessarily rule it out, he didn’t inspire much confidence by not confirming whether they’d pick his option up. It’s a decision, Pace said, that they have until May to make.
We’ve seen more often than not that actions speak louder than words when it comes to Pace. He can reaffirm that Trubisky is the starter heading into 2020, but those words don’t mean a thing until September.
While Pace has done some great things to help turn the Bears franchise around — bringing in Matt Nagy, trading for Khalil Mack — the one thing he’s missed on is the quarterback.
It’s been three years of the Trubisky era, and the Bears don’t have much to show for it other than a slew on inconsistent performances and flashes of a talent that might never fully develop.
While it’s fair to acknowledge that not all quarterbacks develop at the same rate, it’s also fair to point out that Trubisky hasn’t shown enough to earn the trust that comes with that fifth-year option.
Still, Pace remains confident that Trubisky can ultimately develop into the player he believed he drafted.
“We believe in him, we believe in the player, we believe in the person, we believe in the trajectory that he’s on,” Pace said. “We believe we need to be better around him, and that’s what this time of year is all about. And that’s through things we’re doing with coaches, things we’re doing with scheme, things we’re doing with personnel and then his growth as a young player. They all grow at different rates and it’s just projecting his growth.”
But belief doesn’t necessarily mean that Trubisky’s starting job is guaranteed. While Pace insists he’s the starter heading into 2020, there is competition coming that will either help Trubisky or make the decision easier to move on from him.
“We believe in [Trubisky], we support him and we’re going to be better around him,” Pace said. “But I think competition brings out the best in everybody.”
Hopefully for the Bears, the impending quarterback competition — between Trubisky and whoever ends up in the quarterbacks room — will put the best quarterback under center for Chicago in 2020.
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