Bears' Wild Card Loss Should Be Mitchell Trubisky's Final Game with Franchise

The Chicago Bears have their answer: Mitchell Trubisky isn't their guy. 

As soon as the New Orleans Saints scored a second touchdown with 4:08 remaining in Sunday's third quarter, the game felt out of reach because of the Bears' inability to generate offense. Ultimately, the Saints won 21-9 in the Wild Card Round contest, ending Chicago's season. 

While the loss will certainly be difficult for those in the Bears locker room, it provided much-needed clarity for the entire organization. 

To be fair, Trubisky didn't play horribly. He did throw a perfect deep pass to Javon Wims in the first quarter that should have resulted in a touchdown. Unfortunately, the wide receiver dropped it. The quarterback can't overcome dumb penalties and mistakes by others. It's totally unfair to lay everything at his feet. 

At the same time, Sunday's effort served as a culmination of four disappointing seasons after the Bears traded up to select Trubisky with the second overall pick in the 2017 class. In retrospect, they passed on Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson to select Trubisky. Some will argue that neither Mahomes nor Watson was viewed as a top-five prospect at the time, and they'd be correct. Then again, neither was Trubisky. And that's where the problems began. 

"Everyone was like, 'Holy shit! They just took Mitch Trubisky No. 2?'" an anonymous scout told Bleacher Report's Kalyn Kahler. "There was no way we thought they were going to get Trubisky. That was so far removed from what we thought could be reality."

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Trubisky was a solid quarterback prospect. He showed tremendous growth in his one year as North Carolina's starter. He had the athleticism to make plays from the pocket or outside of structure. When he got into a rhythm, he showed some anticipatory traits. However, he didn't have the raw arm talent or show the capability of carrying an offense like Mahomes and certainly didn't perform in the biggest moments like Watson. 

Basically, the Bears did the supposed franchise quarterback a disservice by not only making him the second overall pick but trading up to do so. Expectations immediately escalated to levels he still hasn't come close to achieving. 

While there were flashes at times and the 26-year-old played better down the stretch after being benched earlier this season, he still wasn't very good. According to Pro Football Focus, Trubisky entered this year's postseason with the worst overall passing grade among all of the starting quarterbacks. He certainly didn't make that grade look wrong with a sub-200-yard passing effort (with a garbage-time touchdown once the game was out of reach). Again, the mistakes didn't fall entirely on the quarterback, but he didn't help matters. 

For example, the fourth-year signal-caller shouldn't make a major fourth-down gaffe like he did in the first quarter when he ran out of bounds instead of diving for the first-down marker. At that point, Chicago trailed 7-0. These types of mental mistakes simply can't happen in a postseason contest. 

To be a true franchise quarterback, you must be able to consistently execute an offensive scheme efficiently and effectively while elevating the play of those around you. The Bears aren't exactly devoid of talent with running back David Montgomery, wide receiver Allen Robinson II and tight ends Jimmy Graham and Cole Kmet. Yet this group, as a whole, ranked bottom third in the league in both scoring and pass offense during the regular season. 

Brett Duke/Associated Press

Trubisky's performance showed why the Bears haven't committed to him after this year, which was confirmed with Ian Rapoport's earlier report on NFL Network that the quarterback had "a lot to prove" Sunday to remain the team's starting quarterback. 

Two weeks ago, executives around the league considered the possibility of Chicago actually moving forward with Trubisky as its quarterback, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

Circumstances change, and the Bears will remain in limbo if they decide to re-sign the quarterback after declining his fifth-year option before the 2020 campaign began. 

Instead, the organization already has a bridge quarterback in place with Nick Foles, who has a $6.7 million salary-cap hit next season. With Foles expected on the roster, the Bears can transition toward another long-term plan at the game's most important position. The team should have options. 

Maybe the Bears make a play for Sam Darnold if the New York Jets decide to draft a quarterback with this year's second overall pick. Or the organization can sign a free agent like Jacoby Brissett or Taylor Heinicke to add competition. 

Another draft investment is probably the best path toward success. With the loss, the Bears own the 20th overall selection in April's draft. Unfortunately, Chicago sits behind the Washington Football Team, which also needs a new signal-caller. 

Options will be limited since Clemson's Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State's Justin Field and BYU's Zach Wilson are expected top-10 picks. North Dakota State's Trey Lance is the wild card because he only has one full year as a starter at the FCS level. If he slides a little, the Bears could make a play for him. A year or two behind Foles could turn into an excellent setup.

Roger Steinman/Associated Press

Alabama's Mac Jones will also come in play for teams later in the first round. Like Lance, Jones has only been a starter for one full season, but the Heisman Trophy finalist has been exceptional at the highest amateur level, putting together the most efficient season in college football history (so far). 

Some offseason investment is better than the alternative. 

Right now, the Bears are just good enough to make the playoffs but lack the talent at quarterback to vie for anything more. The team isn't bad enough to warrant a top-five selection and yet another crack at an elite quarterback prospect.

To better illustrate where Chicago currently sits as a franchise, it finished 7-2 against losing teams but 1-7 against playoff-caliber opponents, as 670 The Score's Chris Emma noted. 

A complete rebuild isn't necessary. The Bears can make a major change on the fly by addressing the quarterback position, and the first step is cutting ties with Trubisky. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @brentsobleski.