The Chicago Bears said early this offseason that Mitchell Trubisky remains their Opening Day starter for the 2020 season. They've also made it clear that trade acquisition Nick Foles will have a chance to steal the quarterback job, with just about every one of Foles' former head coaches endorsing him as Chicago's next QB1. But what if both QBs end up starting for the Bears this year?
That's exactly how The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain sees it playing out.
Joining guest host Sean Wagner-McGough on the Pick Six Podcast (listen below and be sure to subscribe here for a daily dose of NFL goodness) Fishbain explained Tuesday that while one QB definitely stands out as the favorite, the history of both Bears signal-callers suggests Foles and Trubisky are likely to get opportunities.
"I've been saying all offseason I expect Foles to be the guy who wins the competition," Fishbain said. "But here's my caveat: I don't know if that means Nick Foles starts Week 1. I just think, at some point, Nick Foles is going to be the guy. I don't see either quarterback starting 16 games. I see both of them starting games this year ... Maybe it takes (Matt Nagy) a few weeks, or maybe Mitch Trubisky wins the job and then gets hurt."
Foles, as Fishbain noted, has never started more than 13 games in a single NFL season, while Trubisky has missed time due to injuries in each of the last two years. And yet, in an ideal world, he added, it'll be Foles who takes most of the action under center.
"It seems like Nick Foles was kind of the guy from the get-go," Fishbain said, of the Bears' QB hunt this offseason. "Mitch Trubisky did not operate that offense last year the way that Matt Nagy wanted it to be operated ... There was just a disconnect there ... (Their approach) was, 'Who can we trust? Who can we trust the most to handle this thing the way we want it to be handled?'"
Foles, of course, has plenty of familiarity with big names on the Bears' coaching staff, starting with Nagy. He also has previous experience working under assistants Bill Lazor and John DeFilippo, the latter of whom served as the Philadelphia Eagles' QBs coach when Foles helped guide Philly to its Super Bowl LII victory.
"He can know the playbook, he can be a good leader," Fishbain said. "He's not going to cause any drama."