Tag: Trubisky

Bills QB Mitch Trubisky shines in his return to Chicago: ‘It felt good’

Red hot Trubisky at QB today for the #Bills vs. the #Bears:

While juicy storylines are often hard to come by in the NFL preseason, one that was on the forefront of everyone’s mind when the Bills and Bears faced off on Saturday was quarterback Mitchell Trubisky’s return to the Windy City.

Once it was officially announced that Trubisky would start, many fans and media members alike coined the preseason Week 2 contest as a “revenge game” for the former Bears QB.

“It was different coming back here to Chicago,” Trubisky told reporters following the 41-15 Bills win. “Obviously cause I spent a lot of time here the last four years. It was awesome to see all the guys and coaches before the game, catching up with those guys… and then how supportive everyone in the Bills locker room was for me… I’m just really grateful to be a part of this team… it was a lot of fun today. We still got work to do and it just felt good to come back and perform well and play well at Soldier Field.”

Play well Trubisky did, even with most of the Bills starters sitting out of the exhibition contest. The QB finished 20-for-28 passing with 221 yards and a touchdown in his one half of play. He also tacked on a nice run for 11 yards.

“It feels good. It felt good to come back and play well,” Trubisky added. “I owe a whole lot of that to my teammates. Run after catch. Great plays on defense. Great plays on special teams. Dominated the field position… We did our job on offense and that’s to score points. I just thought we were efficient. I feel comfortable in the offense.”

While Trubisky remained diplomatic in most of his post-game press conference, it’s only human nature to assume doing it vs. your former team would be a tad bit sweeter.

“It felt good to do it against these guys,” Trubisky admitted. “But I’m also rooting for a lot of those guys on the other side and they’re still like family to me.”

While Trubisky has discussed recognizing the Bears organization lost faith in him even prior to not renewing his contract, the QB seems to not hold any grudges.

“I’ll be rooting for them this season and wish them well and just that everyone stays healthy,” Trubisky said.”It kind of felt like practice back in the day, just going against those guys, just talking a little smack and just having fun playing football. Just very grateful to be a part of this team and how everyone had my back today. We just went out an executed and made plays and got in the end zone. That’s all you can ask for.”

While football players often try to block out any outside noise, Trubisky was well aware this game was being billed as his moment of vengeance.

“I just wanted to play well. I think it was important for me to come out here and play well. Keep getting better week to week. I knew people would be talking about it and hyping it up, but it was just important for me to come out here and do my job and show my teammates that I can play ball,” he said.

One person that did admit they were impressed with Trubisky on the day was the man at the top, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott. He admitted that Trubisky was playing under quite different circumstances and came through.

“The guys were ready to play,” McDermott said via video conference. “It’s hard to do what he just did, whether it’s a preseason game or regular season game so soon after leaving (Chicago).”

One area that had been debated prior to today’s game was what sort of reception the QB would receive from the fans at Soldier Field upon his return. Some former teammates and Chicago media members had taken to social media prior to the game urging fans not to boo Trubisky. It appeared to work as it was mostly a warm reception for the signal caller.

“It was very welcoming and I’m very thankful for that,” Trubisky said. “I love the people of Chicago. The fans are as passionate as anyone out there and I’m grateful for the reception I received. It definitely felt good coming back here and it was nice to perform well today. I love the fans and the city of Chicago… I’m grateful for my journey and where I’m at and just how the guys supported me today and how we played in the first half. I am just super proud of that.”

While it was nice for Trubisky to come back and get the win vs. his old team, more importantly it was nice for the Bills to see they have a very capable backup option at QB, should anything happen to Josh Allen this season.

While the saying goes, “revenge is a dish best served cold,” Trubisky and the Bills were red hot in Chicago.

Revenge game complete.

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Who will start at QB for the Chicago Bears in Week 1?

Projecting the Week 1 starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears.

The Chicago Bears have been busy this offseason, including the addition of QB Nick Foles to their quarterbacks’ room. It will be interesting to see how the battle under center unfolds this summer and into the fall. Below, we focus on which quarterback will be the Bears’ Week 1 starter and the NFL futures betting odds from BetMGM sportsbook.

Chicago Bears: QB depth chart

The incumbent starting quarterback is Mitchell Trubisky, but the former No. 2 overall pick from the 2017 NFL Draft has produced some rather uneven results. As such, general manager Ryan Pace turned up the heat by acquiring Foles from the Jacksonville Jaguars on the final day of March in exchange for a compensatory fourth-round pick.

Former Tennessee Volunteers signal-caller Tyler Bray rounds out the quarterbacks’ room, although he isn’t considered a factor in the battle for the top spot.

Place your legal sports wagers online at BetMGM, or play in their online casino. Bet now!

Chicago Bears’ Week 1 starter: Best bets

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Monday, April 27 at 10:45 a.m. ET.

Trubisky (+120) has been mostly underwhelming over three seasons under center in which he has started a total of 41 games. He has completed 63.4% of his pass attempts for 8,554 yards and 48 touchdowns with 29 interceptions. He has rushed for 862 yards and seven scores. He has been sacked 93 times and has fumbled 21 times.

Foles (-159), who led the Philadelphia Eagles franchise to their lone Super Bowl win after starter Carson Wentz was injured late in the 2017 season, was given a boatload of money by the Jaguars ahead of the 2019 campaign. A broken collarbone sidelined him before he was able to get going, and undrafted rookie Gardner Minshew picked up the ball and ran with it, literally, making Foles expendable.

In Chicago, it will be a battle between Foles and Trubisky, and experience and winning are on the side of the newcomer. The 31-year-old Foles has been both a backup and starter in the NFL, and his experience leading the Eagles to playoff wins will likely mean fans push for him to get a shot sooner rather than later.

In Week 1, EXPECT TRUBISKY (+120) to be the starting signal-caller, as the Bears will likely be reluctant to pull the plug and admit failure just yet. The former UNC Tar Heel is likely to be on a super short leash, and if he struggles in the first game or two, it wouldn’t be surprising to see “Saint Nick” get the nod before the leaves start changing colors.

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Jake Fromm would embrace chance to reunite with Georgia teammates on Bears

Former Georgia football QB Jake Fromm would embrace the opportunity to play with his former UGA teammates on the Chicago Bears

It’s been tough to get a read on what NFL general managers think of former Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, a guy who was once considered an early first round NFL Draft pick.

He struggled in the 2019 season, causing his draft stock to slide, but the success he had in his three years at Georgia should not be overlooked.

He broke multiple records, cemented himself as one of the greatest in UGA history, won three straight division titles and led his team to the national championship as a freshman.

Despite his inconsistent junior season, he’s still viewed as a passer who could go in the second or third round, sit for a few years and then eventually get his shot as a starter.

One NFL general manager who has an affinity for Georgia prospects, Ryan Pace of the Chicago Bears, is someone who could take a chance on Fromm with one of the Bears two second round picks.

There’s a lot of question marks surrounding the quarterback position that the Bears must address this offseason. Chicago is looking to add a veteran quarterback in free agency to give starter Mitchell Trubisky an extra push, but there’s also a strong chance that Pace turns to the draft to find a young, promising passer.

The Bears offense already has two Georgia wide receivers who once caught balls from Fromm — Riley Ridley and Javon Wims.

Regarding joining Ridley and Wims in Chicago, Fromm told NBC Sports Chicago:

“What more could you ask for? To play with those guys, especially two of the guys I’ve thrown the ball to. I’ve gone up against Roquan every single practice. It would kind of be like home away from home.”

Fromm met with the Bears while at the NFL Combine, so the interest is certainly there. Additionally, Fromm would be joining former Georgia linebackers Leonard Floyd and Roquan Smith, who make up half of the Bears punishing linebacker group.

There’s no easy or immediate fix for the Bears

To say the Bears’ performance this season has been disappointing would be a bit of an understatement. If we travel back in time to the preseason, there were a lot of very smart people saying the Bears have one of the most talented rosters in …

To say the Bears’ performance this season has been disappointing would be a bit of an understatement. If we travel back in time to the preseason, there were a lot of very smart people saying the Bears have one of the most talented rosters in football. It wasn’t crazy to think Chicago would take their momentum from last year and try and make a Super Bowl run.

That obviously hasn’t happened. Mitch Trubisky has regressed to the point where it wouldn’t be shocking if he lost his job for the rest of the season to career backup Chase Daniel. Matt Nagy is getting ripped by everyone who has a Twitter account and lives in the greater Chicago area. Remember, Nagy won Coach of the Year last season and now people are calling for his firing for how’s he handled Trubisky and the team this season. Even the defense has been kind of disappointing — although a regression was to be expected. Khalil Mack may be playing alright, but he’s not putting up numbers. Here’s the bad part — and Bears fans may not want to continue — there may be no end in sight. Chicago could be bad for a while.

The first reason is obvious: teams simply can’t miss when they draft a quarterback high in the draft. Ryan Pace didn’t just miss by a little though.

Silva has hated the Bears trade up from the moment it happened, but that’s because he believes in having as much draft capital as possible. Let’s talk about that draft capital.

Last year, everyone was keen to make fun of Jon Gruden when he complained about the Raiders not having a pass rush. After all, he did just trade Khalil Mack to the Bears and Mack was running roughshod over every offensive line on his way to the quarterback. It would be an extremely hot take to say the Bears shouldn’t have traded for Mack, but Silva — and a lot of folks who back analytics — would criticize Ryan Pace for not caring much about draft picks.

That’s the real problem. The Bears traded picks to move up for Trubisky which actually hurts them twice since Trubisky currently isn’t any good and they traded picks that could have contributed to the team to get him. The future is even more bleak. The Bears simply don’t have any picks to restock the offensive line or find a quarterback to make up for the Trubisky mistake. They don’t have a first or third-round pick in the 2020 draft due to Mack trade. They don’t have a fourth-round pick because it’s either going to New England or Baltimore. They have a ton of fifth-round picks which is nice if you want to hope and pray that end of the roster guys can contribute. At least they have most of their picks in 2021.

It isn’t like teams are going to give picks away. The Bears don’t have anyone where teams would be willing to give up anything in the top half of the draft. Chicago could trade for Cam Newton, but that would contribute to their lack of draft capital. Plus, imagine if Newton never regains his form. The Bears would be in a worse spot than they are now.

There’s no quick answer for the Bears. They could theoretically try and pry Andy Dalton away from the Bengals. When Andy Dalton is the answer, that’s not good. They could trade for Cam Newton, but they don’t have the picks to do so. They could hope Newton gets cut, but would he want to go to the Bears after seeing the current issues on their team? There’s no simple answer. There’s no quick fix. That’s a real sudden change for a team hoping to make the Super Bowl this year.