As our training camp battle series continues, we look at quarterback where Mark Sanchez and Connor Shaw will battle for the QB3 spot.
There is plenty of noise surrounding the Chicago Bears quarterback position, and for good reason. The Bears let Jay Cutler go after last season and didn’t want to re-sign either Brian Hoyer or Matt Barkley. The only holdover from the 2016 Bears is Connor Shaw.
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After Shaw, there are three fresh faces heading into camp- Mike Glennon, Mitch Trubisky, and Mark Sanchez. The first couple of years of the John Fox/Ryan Pace regime has shown that they are more than happy having two active roster QBs and stashing a third on the practice squad.
This year, however, comes uncertainty at the position. Not only that, the Bears have made it clear that they don’t want Trubisky playing right away, that being said, Fox or Pace aren’t going to want to be a Glennon hand injury away from having to play Trubisky before he’s ready.
While the idea of three QBs may not be what the Bears want, and when they feel Trubisky is ready, that may change, but until then, expect the Bears to carry three active QBs on the roster.
Obviously, Glennon and Trubisky will hold the top two quarterback spots, but who will have the third? After Shaw was released originally for the Victor Cruz signing and brought back due to an injury, obviously, it would appear Sanchez has a significant leg up on Shaw. Sanchez is a veteran QB who could probably show a few things to the rookie. Sanchez doesn’t fit at all into the Bears’ long term plans and won’t be around after this year regardless.
Shaw however has youth and an extra year of learning in Dowell Loggains system on his side. Trubisky has had the benefit of a veteran QB for OTAs, minicamp and will also have it for all of August. I’m not sure how much more benefit he will have for another couple of months of the “Sanchez.” Again, he’s not learning from Tom Brady, this is Mark Sanchez.
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Shaw has youth and the unknown factor on his side. He could still develop into a reliable backup QB. If Shaw develops more than that, maybe the Bears will even have a tradable asset. It’s a long shot, but a long shot is better than the zero that Sanchez brings to the table.
Shaw will have to shine to oust the veteran Sanchez, but if he looks competent in Loggains’ system, he should be considered the smarter option at QB3. But based on Shaw’s earlier release, he will have an uphill battle to unseat Sanchez and make the active 53.