One had to expect it was going to happen sooner or later. The breakup of the Chicago Bears and Mitch Trubisky was anything but cordial. The former 2nd overall pick got off to a great start with Matt Nagy in 2018 as they won the division. However, things seemed to turn sour over the next two years. Everything culminated in the QB being benched early last season. While he did end up returning to finish the year and help the Bears make the playoffs, the writing was already on the wall. His time in Chicago was over.
It’s easy to imagine that this wasn’t easy for a competitor like him to stomach. Trubisky worked his tail off the past four years. Nobody can dispute that. He endured a lot of pain on the field and a lot of hate off it. All while managing to stay professional. At the same time, it is clear he still has some hard feelings about how things went. Particularly in regards to his former head coach Matt Nagy.
Check out his comments from a most recent press conference in Buffalo.
Mitch Trubisky on why he ultimately chose Buffalo and how he thinks things are going
"It's just really nice to be part of a great team and be somewhere where people want you here and they care about how you're progressing as a person and as a player" #BillsMafia @WKBW pic.twitter.com/diVZNdpxKO
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) August 10, 2021
Trubisky asked if he got a raw deal in Chicago as a 29-21 QB:
"The past is the past. Not trying to dwell on it."#Bills #Bears
— Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) August 10, 2021
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Trubisky says he loves how Daboll makes the play calls. Gives him a chance to play more free and go thru progressions easier.#Bills
— Thad Brown (@thadbrown7) August 10, 2021
Mitchell Trubisky said the game “feels a lot more pure” in his short time in Buffalo than it did the last few years in Chicago. He said he could feel the Bears losing belief in him toward the end of his time there. Called free agency a “humbling process.”
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) August 10, 2021
There isn’t much of a need for translation there. Trubisky feels that the Bears abandoned him at some point last season. Not only that but he also indicated a strong belief that Nagy’s offense was far too structured. Not allowing its players enough freedom. This isn’t the first time he questioned the offense either. There were moments he indicated a desire to mold the system more to his strengths.
This would suggest that Nagy wasn’t doing that enough. Is that fair? Depends on who you ask. The Bears head coach did change several things regarding his scheme in order to help Trubisky last year. Including a running game with more outside zone, more play action, and more bootlegs. The quarterback improved enough to salvage the season, but he never looked like the light bulb suddenly went on.
Mitch Trubisky has to own his role in all of this
Good quarterbacks usually find ways to be successful even if the offensive system isn’t the best. Too often it felt like everything needed to be perfect for him to have a good day with the Bears. He was too inconsistent. Too reliant on the scheme to be a success. Nobody is saying Nagy is the best when it comes to implementing an offense. Yet he still gave the QB plenty of opportunities to shine.
Mitch Trubisky failed to grasp them way too often. It’s fine that he is angry with the team. That is par for the course after a breakup. The fact nobody even gave him a shot to compete for a starting job this offseason says it all. Every team around the NFL watched him for four years and saw enough to realize he isn’t what they’re looking for. Now he’s a backup in Buffalo.
Part of him no doubt thinks the Bears are to blame for that.
It’s a safe bet he’ll be itching to go when the two teams meet in a couple of weeks for their preseason matchup. Even a little revenge is better than no revenge at all. Still, Chicago has already moved on from that chapter of their quarterback history. They’re anxious to see if Justin Fields can succeed where he failed.
