The announcement came April 3 over a conference call with local media. Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy declared “an open competition” for the starting quarterback job. It was a significant development but hardly surprising. The Bears had put the writing on the wall in spray paint two weeks earlier when they traded a fourth-round pick to the Jaguars in exchange for Nick Foles.
After last season’s offensive regression, after the Bears finished 29th in the NFL in both total yards (296.8 per game) and scoring (17.5 ppg), after Mitch Trubisky staggered through a maddening season with a passer rating of 83.