Can Chicago Keep Mitchell Trubisky on the Bench in Year One?

The drafting of University of North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky raised a lot of ire among Bears fans and the media.  He has a lot to prove as do the Bears.  But should he have to prove he was worth the high price in 2017 or can he and the Bears wait?  Will the Bears allow him to wait?

Typically, a first-round draft pick is supposed to start right away.  But for quarterbacks, there is supposedly an unspoken rule that says that they should sit and wait until they or the team are ready.  But, this unspoken rule is hardly ever followed.  When quarterbacks were being drafted way back in the 70’s, for example, they would start their first season out.  Terry Bradshaw, drafted in 1970, started right away and while he didn’t do that well, to begin with, he ended up being a Hall of Fame quarterback.  He is a is a fine example of a successful first round quarterback.

Fast forward to more recent times and quarterbacks have been thrown into the “fire” just as often in their first NFL season.  There has been just one first round pick at quarterback that sat his entire first year in the NFL.  That quarterback was former Cincinnati Bengal Carson Palmer.  He didn’t start a single game in his first year in the league.  That worked out well too although he never won a Super Bowl.

(For a look at the list of first-round quarterbacks and their first year in the league, please go to this Fox Sports article)

So, the unspoken rule is more of a “wish” than it is a rule.  Almost every quarterback drafted in the first round ends up starting in their first season.  It’s happened almost 100 percent of the time.  Knowing this, is there a good chance that Trubisky will take the helm at quarterback for the Bears sometime in 2017?

My thoughts just before writing this article were that if named starter Mike Glennon were to fail or get hurt then Mark Sanchez could take over.  That would keep Trubisky safe on the bench. Now, the word is that Sanchez has a knee injury and will miss the rest of the off-season.  Will he be ready to go by training camp or the even the start of the season?  The team says he will be but will he could behind the curve when training camp starts.

Chicago Bears

Having Sanchez and Glennon in front of Trubisky is the ideal scenario to keep the youngster on the bench.  You want him on the bench in 2017.  You do not want him to start.  The Bears took the effort and spent the money on Glennon, so it’s his job.  He will be the starter.  Sanchez, with good health, will be the backup and Trubisky will be the inactive number three on gameday.

The coaching and management staffs’ have positioned this team to have no need to start Trubisky in 2017.  They have two guys ahead of him who can take care of things until he is ready.  Even if the team does poorly, and they play poorly, the should not need to start the rookie.  There is a strong sense that the Bears won’t even consider starting Trubisky in 2017.

But can they afford not to start Trubisky?  Do they want to get their “huge” investment off the bench and onto the field?  If it were a player at any other position, I would say put him on the field right away.  But not a quarterback.  If they can avoid sending him out there, then they must do it.  Even if Glennon, Sanchez and any other quarterback they put out there fails miserably, they still must leave Trubisky on the bench.

Simply put, yes. Chicago can leave Trubisky on the bench and let him develop.  Unless he ends up having a spectacular training camp or if they go through quarterbacks quickly due to injury, he will sit.  Then, in the 2018 off-season, he can have a chance at being the team’s starting quarterback.  That would be the idea situation.

Another caveat to this is that if Trubisky does do well in training camp and can somehow beat out Glennon as the starter, the Bears will have a financial dilemma.  Sure, winning means a lot but money means even more.  They spent a lot of money on Glennon so having him sit would hurt.  Luckily, they have an “out” after one year with Glennon so that they won’t eat the entire contract.  But they could still take a big hit if he doesn’t work out.  Just knowing how much they have invested in him may keep Trubisky on the bench no matter what.

Will Trubisky be the second first round draft pick in the 2000’s to sit in his first season in the league?  Or will he, out of desperation, get thrown into the proverbial “fire” and end up starting in his first season?  If he does start, will he succeed or will he fail?

Next: Trubisky headlines rookie premier

These are all questions on every Bears fan’s mind.

Let’s hope we don’t find out in 2017.  As a fan, I am willing to wait a year to see.  Are you?