CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears are going to give prized rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky a try.
The No. 2 overall draft pick from North Carolina will start against the Minnesota Vikings next Monday night after Mike Glennon struggled in the first four games. The team announced the move Monday.
It’s hardly a surprise that the Bears (1-3) will go with Trubisky considering how badly Glennon has struggled. He has five interceptions and three lost fumbles. He got picked off twice, lost a fumble on a sack and had another snap ricochet off his knee for a lost fumble in Thursday’s 35-14 loss at Green Bay.
“It was just a decision I thought needed to be made,” coach John Fox told Chicago’s WBBM 780-AM. “We’ve had 10 giveaways in the first four weeks of the season, and you can’t win football games that way. Not that they were all one guy’s fault, but the combination of that, we’re going a different direction.”
Fox informed Trubisky and Glennon of the decision on Sunday night. Glennon becomes the No. 2 quarterback, with veteran Mark Sanchez remaining in the No. 3 spot.
The Bears had envisioned this as sort of a redshirt season for Trubisky even though they made a bold move by trading up a spot with San Francisco to grab him on draft night. He started only 13 games at North Carolina and worked primarily out of the shotgun in a spread offense with few similarities to Chicago’s scheme.
He started third on the depth chart behind Glennon and veteran Mark Sanchez. But with his mobility and arm strength, he progressed quicker than expected. Trubisky sparked a debate over who should start with a strong performance in the preseason opener against Denver, though he was more ordinary in the next three exhibitions.
Glennon played turnover-free ball in a 23-17 season-opening loss to Atlanta and had the Bears threatening for a last-second touchdown after struggling for much of the game. Things only got worse for Glennon in a blowout loss at Tampa Bay, and he didn’t play well in a surprising win over Pittsburgh, either.
Having a banged-up offensive line and depleted receiving corps didn’t help. With Cameron Meredith tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament in the preseason and Kevin White breaking his shoulder in the opener, the Bears are missing their top two targets.
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