The Chicago Bears are declining Mitchell Trubisky's fifth-year option, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The former No. 2 overall pick appeared to regress in his third season, as after throwing for 3,223 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2018's 12-4 campaign, he threw for 3,138 yards, just 17 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in 2019.
Matt Nagy and Co. have made it clear that Trubisky's starting job is in jeopardy. Earlier this offseason, they traded for former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles -- who won Super Bowl MVP with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.
"With the addition of Nick Foles, it's exactly what we talked about from the start," said Bears general manager Ryan Pace. "We want to create competition. We've talked to both players and it's an open competition."
Trubisky will have the first crack at the open competition come training camp, but the Bears want 2020 to be the year they figure out if Trubisky is the future under center or not.
"When we walk out on the first day, whenever it is whether it's OTAs or whether it's training camp, Mitch will be going first in the huddle," said Nagy. "I can promise you this, it's going to be extremely fair. It's going to be competitive it in a good way. It's going to be a healthy competitiveness."
The move to decline Trubisky's fifth-year option does not come as much of a surprise, and the Bears want to light a fire under someone they believe has much more potential than he showed last season. Trubisky is not the only top pick to have his fifth-year option declined, as picks No. 2 through No. 5 in the 2017 NFL Draft all had their fifth-year option declined.
