Bears commit to Mitchell Trubisky as starting quarterback for 2020 season

Bears GM Ryan Pace ended all the speculation before it could begin

Many thought the 2020 offseason might bring a change under center for the 8-8 Chicago Bears, but general manager Ryan Pace ended all speculation not even a week after the Bears played their final game of the season.

As Bears head coach Matt Nagy and Pace addressed the state of the franchise on Tuesday, it wasn't long before a reporter asked if they felt confident in Mitchell Trubisky moving forward as the starter.

"Yes we do," replied Pace, via NFL.com. "I think with Mitch -- and we need more time in the coming months to evaluate everything -- the first thing that comes to mind for me is just consistency. You see moments, you see games, but for him, stringing together better consistency. You have the peaks and valleys; we just need to flatten that out."

The former No. 2 overall pick appeared to regress in his third season. After throwing for 3,223 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2018's 12-4 campaign, Trubisky threw for 3,138 yards, just 17 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. 

"The word that comes to my mind this season is 'regression,'" Pace said. "Why did we regress in so many areas? We need to figure that out."

This season will mean a lot for both Trubisky and the Bears. As a first-round pick, Chicago has a fifth-year option on their quarterback, but they will have to pick it up by early May in order to keep Trubisky on his rookie deal through the 2021 season. 

Trubisky started off slowly in 2019, and it took until Week 3 for him to throw his first touchdown pass. He did improve as the season went on, but still failed to throw a touchdown pass in seven out of 15 games. Trubisky finished No. 21 overall in passing yards this season, which was behind players like Gardner Minshew, Kyle Allen, and Andy Dalton -- all who had played in less than 15 games.

Trubisky did help star wideout Allen Robinson put up his first 1,000-yard season as a Bear and registered an impressive primetime victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14, but Chicago is going to need to see more out of its quarterback if they want to tab him as the starter beyond just 2020.