Several local media have stuck to the Chicago Bears message since the end of the NFL draft. The Mitch Trubisky vs. Mike Glennon battle is all smoke and mirrors. This 2017 season is about sticking to the plan. The veteran Glennon gets a chance to start and earn that $18.5 million the team gave him in free agency. Meanwhile the coaching staff can take their time developing the talented but inexperienced rookie.
Of course that would go against the current of recent years. Top draft picks tend to play sooner than later. A lot of people don’t expect Trubisky to buck that trend. Not like Aaron Rodgers anyway. For one Trubisky doesn’t have Brett Favre in front of him. For another all signs out of early practices are he’s picking things up fast.
He’s obviously talented but also hardworking and smart. Some continue to warn betting against him on challenging for that starting job right out of the gate. In fact Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah, two former scouts and current NFL.com analysts, believe he’s going to give Glennon all he can handle in training camp.
Mitch Trubisky vs. Mike Glennon camp battle is for real
There’s no gray area there. The two men believe beyond a doubt that Trubisky is a threat to Glennon. Chicago did not draft him that high to sit on the bench. They believe he’s their future. Nothing would likely please them more than if he outperformed a veteran with NFL starting experience right out of the gate.
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Of course that would be a crappy turn of events for Glennon. He signed the three-year deal on the belief he’d be the starter. As he’s learning though, nothing is free in the NFL. If he wants the job he’ll have to win it. Competition tends to bring the best players to the forefront. If he can’t beat out a rookie who started just 13 college games, then he shouldn’t be starting for the Chicago Bears.
Whether John Fox will have the guts to go that way is another story. He is under a ton of pressure in 2017 after going 9-23 his first two years. Failing to get some significant improvement this year could cost him his third and probably last head coaching job. The urge for him may be to go with the more established veteran in Glennon even if Trubisky outperforms him.
That’s what makes this upcoming battle almost must-see TV for Bears fans.
