Mitchell Trubisky: A Disappointment, Not A Bust.
Mitchell Trubisky has signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He will compete against Mason Rudolph for the starting QB position that will be vacant because of Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement. Trubisky is making the short trip from Buffalo to Pittsburgh after one year of riding the bench with the Bills. Trubisky’s career as an NFL player has surely been a disappointment, but he isn’t quite a bust.
With the 2nd overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected Mitchell Trubisky. They took that pick while Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were still available. Trubisky ranked as a top-five quarterback in the draft throughout rankings such as ESPN, Pro Football Focus, and Sports Illustrated. NFLDraftScout.com in particular had him as the top QB in the draft. The Bears had several reasons to draft Trubisky where he was, but Mahomes and Watson turned out to as better options by a long shot.
Trubisky in his Pre-NFL Years
During Trusbisky’s career at North Carolina, he only started an entire season once. In 2014 and 2015, he served as the backup to Marquise Williams, but Trusbisky still had some playing time. In Trusbisky’s 2015 season, he had nine total touchdowns, zero interceptions, and 555 passing yards going 40/47 on completions. North Carolina’s 2015 season was highlighted by competing in the ACC Championship and finishing 15th in the final AP Poll. In 2016, Trubisky had a great season by having 35 total touchdowns, six interceptions, and 3748 passing yards. But North Carolina’s 2016 season was a disappointment by losing their final three FBS games to NC State, Duke, and Stanford in the Sun Bowl.
When the time came to declare for the draft, Trubusiky departed from UNC and found a new home with the Bears. Similar to Mahomes and Watson, Trusbisky didn’t immediately get the starting position in the 2017 season. Trubisky was the backup to Mike Glennon at first, but Trusbisky soon got the starting nod and finished the season with a 4-8 record during a rebuilding year.
NFL Career
In 2018, Trubisky started the majority of the season and the Bears won the NFC North with a 12-4 record. Trubisky didn’t quite “lead” the Bears to their success with such a talented defense, but Trubisky was consistent and a reliable quarterback in 2018. His efforts earned him a Pro Bowl spot that year. The Bears lost to the Eagles in the Wildcard round because of Cody Parkey’s “double-doink” kick. If the Bears won that game they would’ve moved on to the Divisional round to play the Rams, a team whom they already beat.
The years to follow were when the majority of fans’ opinions on Trubisky went downhill. Trubisky’s performance was still acceptable to be a starter, but the Bears didn’t make the playoffs in 2019. In 2020, the Bears sneaked into the 7-seed spot, but were defeated by the Saints in the Wildcard round and never had a real chance to make a run in that year’s playoffs. The 2018 Bears were a young team filled with potential, but by 2022 they have almost a completely different roster. Because of his high expectations, Trubisky bore the brunt of the blame.
Part of the causes of the Bears’ decline was Trusbisky’s fault, but part of it was out of his control. Mitchell Trubisky is looking to get a fresh start in Pittsburgh for 2022.