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Ryan Pace Puts Job on the Line with Mitchell Trubisky Selection

By Bill Zimmerman

Nov 19, 2016; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Mitch Trubisky (10) looks to pass in the first quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Mitch Trubisky (10) looks to pass in the first quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ryan Pace has selected his QB of the future, now, Mitchell Trubisky must succeed.

Ryan Pace has been very careful with the moves he’s made to overhaul the Chicago Bears roster. He hasn’t overspent in free agency and he hasn’t made any bold moves in his first two drafts either. That all changed on Thursday night.

As the 2017 NFL Draft was just getting started, Pace went all in. He wanted Mitchell Trubisky. When it appeared that the San Francisco 49ers were going to trade the pick away and someone was going to swoop in and draft his quarterback. Pace stepped up and did something bold. He offered the 49ers a giant package to move up one spot and John Lynch jumped at the chance to move down one pick, still select his guy Solomon Thomas, and rake in a third round and fourth round pick this year and a 2018 third round pick as well.

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The trade is a questionable one for the Bears, there’s no doubt about that. Trubisky didn’t grade out as high as Pace valued him and the ransom Pace paid to move up one spot had social media buzzing. But Pace knows you need a quarterback to succeed in today’s NFL. He didn’t think Jay Cutler could be that quarterback and he feels Trubisky can.

Make no mistake about it, Pace and Trubisky are now in this together. The Bears can’t afford to have Trubisky fail. Giving up that much future for him is a giant risk, and now Trubisky must reward them by becoming a star. Trubisky can’t just become another Cutler, he must become a Roethlisberger, a Brady, a Manning. He must become an NFL star.

If he does, nobody will bat an eye about this move, in fact it will be applauded for a smart one. But if Trubisky doesn’t cut it, if he doesn’t have what it takes to be an NFL quarterback, Ryan Pace will find himself back in the scouting department for a team not named the Chicago Bears.

Jan 3, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace before the game against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace before the game against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports /

Pace has two or three years. Trubisky probably won’t play much this season, but he will certainly be on the field in 2018. If Trubisky doesn’t show much promise next season, Pace will be out of a job. If Trubisky isn’t looked upon as one of the great young QBs in the league by 2019, Pace will certainly be out of a job.

No one can ever call Ryan Pace conservative again. He got his man. Pace thinks Trubisky is the man to turn this franchise around and make them a Super Bowl contender. If he’s right, we will all tip our caps and admit we were wrong. But if he’s wrong, he’ll be checking out the classifieds in the not-too-distant-future.

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