Chicago Bears: 7 starters who will benefit most from playing in the preseason
Mitchell Trubisky and/or Nick Foles
The addition of Quinn may be considered the best offseason signing by the Bears (at least for now), but the acquisition that got all of the attention in the Windy City was the trade for Nick Foles. The MVP of Super Bowl LII was brought in to compete for the starting job against Mitchell Trubisky. This competition will not only be the center of all attention during the Bears’ training camp, but could possibly be the biggest competition throughout the entire league this summer.
After taking a significant step backwards in 2019, and not being able to get the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, Trubisky is now on the team’s hottest hot seat entering 2020. A big part of Trubisky’s rough start out of the gate last season could be due to Nagy’s decision to not play his starters in the preseason. Trubisky played a total of three snaps during last year’s preseason, with all three of those snaps being running plays.
Having known that the North Carolina product had limited experience as a starter in college, one would think that having reps in the preseason would be a top priority for the second-overall selection of the 2017 NFL Draft. However, Nagy thought otherwise. Fortunately, Chicago’s head coach has now changed his point of view.
As for Foles, he has some familiarity with some of the Bears’ coaching staff. Foles did play under Nagy while he was the offensive quality control coach with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012, and with the Kansas City Chiefs when Nagy was the team’s offensive coordinator in 2016.
In addition, Foles was on the roster in Philly in 2013 while Bears new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach, and the nine-year veteran also served under Bears new quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo when he held the same position with Philadelphia the year Foles stepped in and led the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory.
With offseason programs on hold for the moment, there is no way to tell who will be Chicago’s starting quarterback once the regular season starts. There’s a possibility that Trubisky takes over for the entire year. We could see Foles handle the reins all season long. Trubisky could start Week 1 and then be replaced by Foles, or vice versa.
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Regardless of the scenario, the position that will get the most out of playing during the preseason will be the starting quarterback. Whether if it is Trubisky or Foles, they both better get everything they can out of those exhibition games, because the success of the Bears’ 2020 season will greatly depend upon it.