Another year of steady improvement from Mitchell Trubisky could vault the Chicago Bears to new heights. Could the young quarterback go even further and re-write a few single-season records?
All this discussion and hand-wringing among Chicago Bears fans about swapping stalwarts like Jordan Howard, Adrian Amos and Bryce Callahan with fairly uninspiring replacements probably seems pretty relevant right now while there’s not much else to talk about.
But none of the players leaving or arriving this off-season, including those in the draft, will likely make or break the Bears’ season in 2019.
The star-studded defense will survive just fine as long as the better of their two safeties, Eddie Jackson, stays healthy and Buster Skrine is simply average. And the Bears offense got by fine without Howard playing particularly well last year.
Those guys don’t hold the cards of the Bears’ destiny. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky does.
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Chicago’s hopeful franchise quarterback gave fans a taste of his promising potential in 2018, putting up 3,223 yards, 24 touchdowns, and a 95.4 passer rating despite some up-and-down moments and two games missed due to injury. He also put together a gutsy playoff performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wildcard Round that would’ve resulted in a win if not for Cody Parkey.
All of that came in Trubisky’s first year under head coach Matt Nagy’s offensive system. With his offensive line completely intact and his receiving corps almost the same, his second season should be even better.
Here are a few expectations I’ve laid out for Trubisky in 2019, assuming health. Some of them are more statistical in nature (passing yards, touchdown passes, etc.). Some involve more fundamental aspects of his play that will help him become more efficient (and hopefully) put up better numbers. All should be well within his grasp based on what we saw from him last year.