10 quarterback comparisons to Mitch Trubisky through 3 years

1. Blake Bortles

Bortles seems to be the most common name thrown out when talking about Mitch Trubisky. However, this exercise has shown that Ryan Tannehill is as close to Trubisky as Bortles.

Still, they have similar yards per attempt and adjusted yards per attempt ratings. We also finally found a better runner than Trubisky.

Bortles threw the ball a lot more through three seasons That is mainly because of all of the sacks and interceptions. If you are frustrated with Trubisky, you have to admit that he is not quite as rough as Bortles at this point in their careers.

We know the story of Bortles. Through three years the Jags won 11 games as Bortles took sacks, threw picks and competed in garbage time. In year four, the Jags made the AFC Championship.

The Jags gave Bortles an extension, but after going 3-9 in his fifth season, the Jags worked to get out of his deal.

He spent year six as a backup for the Rams. It is unlikely he will be a starter in the NFL moving forward, meaning he is another quarterback from this list to be done after five years.

Recap

In the case of Leftwich, Sanchez, and Freeman, year four exposed them and they never saw another real chance. Bradford and Tannehill saw injuries derail their careers, but both saw starting opportunities again.

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Bortles had his most success in year four, but fell apart in year five and is unlikely to be a starter again.

Eli Manning won a Super Bowl in year four and Joe Flacco won a Super Bowl in year five.

Lastly is Andy Dalton and  Derek Carr. It is tough to say their impact as Dalton won a lot, but years six through eight were not worth it. Carr has one winning season through six years. It is fair to argue these two could have been as close to Leftwich,  Sanchez, and Freeman as Flacco and Manning.

So, with a small sample size to help we can summarize in 40% of cases we found out in year four or five that the quarterback does not have it. 20% saw injuries ruin their chances with their original team, although they found a second chance, and 20% stayed with their original team for arguably too long. Of course, 20% also won the Super Bowl after a make or break fourth year.

Overall, the biggest takeaway here is there are so many ways his outcome could go still. However, it is clear that we will see all we need to see over the next two years.