CHICAGO, IL – SEPTEMBER 17: Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (10) warms up with the football prior to taking the field in the second half of game action during an NFL game between the Chicago Bears and the Seattle Seahawks on September 17, 2018 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Mitchell Trubisky has only made two starts for Matt Nagy, but the Bears head coach seems to already be building toward another plan under center.
The Chicago Bears beat the Seattle Seahawks Monday night, and if not for Aaron Rodgers pulling off a fourth quarter comeback in Week 1 they’d be 2-0. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has not been flawless, including two interceptions against Seattle, but two starts in a new offense is not enough to fully judge him.
Trubisky only made 13 starts in college at North Carolina, and Monday night was his 14th NFL start. As the first quarterback drafted in 2017, the success fellow first-rounder Patrick Mahomes has enjoyed through two games this year becomes a negative mark on Trubisky for those that want to put it on him.
Early in ESPN’s telecast Monday night, below Trubisky’s bio, there was a quote from Nagy saying “I have to pull back who I am as a play caller.” It’s an odd thing to tell the media, or more specifically probably to say to ESPN’s crew in a production meeting.
Chris Simms of Bleacher Report and PFT Live particularly didn’t care for the narrative Nagy appears to be driving when the topic came up Tuesday morning.
Nagy has acknowledged Trubisky needs time to develop as he learns a new offense, and did so again on Tuesday when asked to make a comparison to Mahomes.
Mahomes sat for most of his rookie season, then stepped into the roots of the same offense with the same head coach in Andy Reid this year. Trubisky started 12 games last year, but under John Fox and Dowell Loggains its safe to say his development didn’t really launch.
It’s possible Trubisky never elevates his play to even a Pro Bowl level, and he proves to not be the quarterback Nagy wants running his offense. He’ll also suffer from comparisons to Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, who were drafted after him, from here to eternity. But even a hint of disbelief from Nagy right now, as he’s only two games in as a head coach, is a major reach and unfair to Trubisky.