Mitchell Trubisky could play his final game for the Chicago Bears (8-8) on Sunday, but Tom Thayer hopes he doesn’t.
“I always believe in patience,” the former Bears offensive lineman and current Bears radio color analyst said on After Hours with Amy Lawrence. “I think there’s quarterbacks that have shown to be great and Hall of Famers like Steve Young that you had to be patient with cultivating his talent. I think with Mitchell Trubisky, he is so dedicated to the game and what it takes and the time that you have to invest to be a great player, he wants that pressure. He wants everything that goes along with being a great teammate. I’ve always been in Mitch’s camp, so I wish someway shape or form they could try to keep him aboard.”
The Bears took Trubisky with the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. He will start against the New Orleans Saints (12-4) this weekend – the second playoff start of his career – and a lot could be riding on his performance, especially with the Bears declining his fifth-year option this past offseason.
“I don’t know if you franchise him and keep him one year and see if you can get him to earn another contract, but he’s got $100 million on the line this weekend,” Thayer said. “If he goes out there and beats New Orleans, he may be able to do whatever he wants to do. He’s really in an interesting position in terms of future wealth opportunities.”
The Bears started 5-1 this season before losing six games in a row, including four by seven points or fewer. They won three of their last four games, however, to sneak into the playoffs.
Thayer didn’t expect that.
“No, I didn’t,” he said. “Because the whole time – even in the beginning of the season when they were doing well and then throughout the six-game losing streak, they were always searching for answers. How can our offense get into a rhythm? How can we be more productive? How can we get better in the red zone? How can we score more points? I think when you had what the defense was accomplishing early in the season and really holding this thing together, it’s disappointing that the offense couldn’t complement them more. But I’m surprised they’ve been able to pull out of this tailspin and kind of invent a new Mitchell Trubisky and a better David Montgomery. It’s really factored into the way the offense is playing.”