Over the last few weeks, current and former NFL players have voiced their support for either Nick Foles or Mitchell Trubisky when it comes to the Chicago Bears’ quarterback battle. On Wednesday, another vote was cast for Trubisky, this time from an unlikely ally.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner, appearing on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast, told everyone not to count out the Bears’ fourth-year quarterback.
“Make sure you’re not sleeping on my boy, Mitch though,” Conner said. “I think Mitch is going to come out hot this year. That’s my dog, I played Mitch [during] my senior year of high school. We’ve been going at it, you know Pitt vs. North Carolina, Steelers and Bears, even though I wasn’t playing that year…I know his work ethic, I know what he’s about to do so he’s going to come out fired up.”
Conner’s support for Trubisky stems from their high school days, but their meeting in 2016 must have left quite an impression, as well. Trubisky’s Tar Heels narrowly beat Conner’s Panthers 37-36 with Trubisky completing 35 of 46 passes for 453 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Both players were drafted in 2017, with Trubisky being picked with the second-overall pick by the Bears and Conner going late in the third round to the Steelers.
While they both suited up as rookies, neither one played a snap during the Bears-Steelers matchup in 2017 that saw the Bears win 23-17 in overtime. Still, Conner has a tremendous amount of respect for his former college adversary. Like others, he believes the best is yet to come for the 25-year old signal caller.
Nobody knows for sure how the quarterback competition between Trubisky and Foles will unfold later this summer, but it’s clear that despite Foles’ arrival, there are many around the league who refuse to sleep on Trubisky.
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