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Bears' Matt Nagy Says It's Too Early to Tell If Mitchell Trubisky Has Improved
August 19, 2020
The Chicago Bears quarterback competition is underway at training camp, and if Mitchell Trubisky was hoping to make a strong impression to his coaching staff he apparently still has a ways to go.
Speaking to media on a Zoom call Tuesday, Bears head coach Matt Nagy told reporters he hasn't seen enough to say if the team's starter of the last three years has improved:
"We don't have enough right now. I wish I could tell you we had enough. But there's just not enough with where we're at. We need to see more. I can't give you a fair statement or opinion with that.
"I'm excited to see some more team periods. Maybe a little more red zone, some two-minute, four-minute, situational football to truly say that. I'd ask for a little bit more time on that with him. But again, the mental side of it, decision-making, where he's going—so far, so good. But we want to now continue to just see that get better and better to where we have 100 percent accuracy with that—with both quarterbacks. They're both competing the right way. But I would say, realistically, we just need a little bit more time to be able to compare it to the last two years."
Even given the context that NFL coaches treat most practices and coaching discussions like state secrets, this seems less like trying to hide what's happening on the field and more like an earnest response from Nagy. The Bears have invested plenty of time—and gave up a noteworthy haul—for the right to draft Trubisky. If they can avoid giving up on him, it's fair to believe they will.
But after a spring and summer where the 2017 No. 2 overall pick was able to rehab an injured shoulder and work on his throwing mechanics, Chicago is still being very careful in how it discusses his play.
Trubisky and offseason acquisition Nick Foles have been splitting time with the first-team offense so far. The North Carolina product led the unit on Monday while Foles had his chance during Tuesday's padded practice. Nagy described what he expects out of his quarterbacks:
"The biggest thing we're looking for right now as a coaching staff between both of those quarterbacks is tempo, in and out of the huddle. Obviously, when you're going through different plays and different pre-snap motions and shifts, or not and just line up and go, there's moving parts now through the defense and so that element of new players and all that put together, we want to see the tempo in and out of the huddle at a really good speed."
To that end, Trubisky said he feels more ready to throw on the field and anticipate plays before they happen.
After passing for 3,138 yards, and 17 touchdowns and 10 picks en route to an 8-8 season, the Bears will need to see those attributes on a consistent basis before he officially reclaims the starting role.
Nagy hasn't seen enough of it yet to say one way or the other.