Bears: Comparing Mitchell Trubisky’s first three years to other prominent quarterbacks

Remember when rookie quarterbacks were drafted and sat for a year or two behind a veteran before starting? Yeah, those days are essentially over. Before the Chicago Bears dispose of Mitchell Trubisky, we should look at how he has performed compared to a few other prominent quarterbacks in the NFL today.

The Chicago Bears drafted Mitchell Trubisky second overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. He was brought in to be the new face of the Bears franchise. He is essentially the polar opposite of what they had in Jay Cutler from a personality standpoint. The thing is, most fans do not care about the personality of the quarterback as long as he performs. Trubisky is not performing this year.

After a Pro Bowl season in 2018 where Trubisky scored 27 total touchdowns, he has faltered and struggled throughout 2019. Many fans have called for his head. Many fans have decided that Trubisky is the problem with this team and will be known as a bust once his tenure is done in Chicago. Should he be given one more year or should the Bears jump ship now?

When I first started watching football, rookie quarterbacks would not start for at least a year. Aaron Rodgers sat behind Brett Favre for three years before seeing legitimate action. Drew Brees sat behind Doug Flutie for a year before starting for the Chargers. Tom Brady sat for a year behind Drew Bledsoe before getting his chance. Do you see a trend here?

Nowadays, most rookie quarterbacks are thrown out there on day one and expected to succeed. Some do, but many do not. I wonder if any of them would have had better careers if they had time to sit and learn from a competent quarterback? Patrick Mahomes was able to learn from Alex Smith and Andy Reid in his rookie year, whereas Trubisky sat behind Mike Glennon in a John Fox offense. See a difference?

I decided to go back and take a look at how Trubisky compares in his first three years with some of the more prominent passers in the NFL. Here we go.