After four years in Chicago under Matt Nagy, the Bears organization decided to not waste any more time in developing the quarterback they traded up to select second overall in the 2017 draft. Mitch Trubisky showed a decline in his accuracy and confidence in the pocket as he approached his fourth year in the NFL.
It’s easy to see that Trubisky does not have the tools to be an elite quarterback. The Bears often won in spite of him, but that said his career record is 29-21, and that includes two playoff appearances. With the Bears, he had a 64% completion percentage, and 10,652 passing yards with 64 touchdowns. So, the fact is, he’s actually done better for the Bears offense than any other quarterback they have put under center since Jay Cutler.
Trubisky has some unique skillsets at the next level that are not at all what we saw from him coming out of the draft. Trubisky won’t produce explosive plays down field, but he is solid when passing short distances. According to PFF, in 2018, his passer rating was 108.9, and in 2020, it jumped to 113.8 when throwing between 0-9 yards.
Over the last few years, we also found out that Trubisky runs a decent run-pass option and bootleg offense because of his run threat. After Nick Foles took his starting position in 2020, he quickly got it back after the Bears rushing attack severely declined. Foles was no threat in an RPO offense, and Trubisky at least kept the offense multi-dimensional.
Unfortunately, the accuracy and decision making forced the Bears to move on from Trubisky. After leaving Chicago, he was looking to reset his career and the Buffalo Bills was a great place to start. Josh Allen was pivotal for Trubisky’s growth as he was able to watch a quarterback who went through similar struggles. Sean McDermott and Brian Daboll were able to develop him into the player he is now.
That brings us to the first possible destination for Trubisky, who is now touted as an attractive free-agent option. This could say more about the 2022 quarterback class, both in free agency and the draft, than it does about Trubisky’s ultimate potential.