Trubisky feels motivated by addition of Foles
When Mitch Trubisky spoke to reporters Friday for the first time since the Bears added competition to the quarterback room, he repeated a couple of key words - pissed and motivated.
"I think I was kind of pissed off in a good way," Trubisky said on a conference call. "I've been motivated ever since. I've been motivated since our season ended last year."
The Bears traded for Nick Foles March 18, sending a fourth-round pick to Jacksonville in return. Foles, 30, is a ninth-year veteran and led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl victory after the 2017 season.
Trubisky was supposed to be the Bears' long-term quarterback, until he regressed during a maddening third pro season. The Bears did not pick up his fifth-year option, so this could conceivably be his last campaign in Chicago.
But Trubisky is not conceding anything, especially the starting job.
"I still feel like this is my team and I'm excited for the competition," he said. " ... And just get back on the field with my guys and show everybody what I can still do and how hard I've been working this offseason to help the Bears win games."
Trubisky said he wasn't really surprised by either of those developments, trading for Foles or refusing his contract option. The numbers spoke for themselves when the Bears dipped from a playoff team in 2018 to an 8-8 record last fall.
"They said they were going to do it (add a QB), so it wasn't a big surprise," he said. "It is what it is. It's good to be pissed off a little bit, it's good to have that motivation. I think everyone on our team should be by the way we performed last year.
"I hope it just motivates my teammates the way it has motivated me. I feel like I'm in a good mental space right now. I'm very driven and motivated to push myself in ways I haven't pushed myself before."
Other Bears players have talked this week about how Trubisky has organized throwing sessions to help get everyone accustomed to a new scheme and new teammates.
A couple of significant additions to the coaching staff are offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, who held the same job in Cincinnati and Miami; and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo. DeFilippo has worked with Foles in two of the past three seasons. He was offensive coordinator in Jacksonville last year and QB coach in Philadelphia in 2017. In between, he was offensive coordinator in Minnesota for one season.
"Nick is a really good dude," Trubisky said. "It's been all positive, a healthy relationship. The first conversation we had, I think we both made it a point that it's important for us to be a part of a great quarterback room. That's what we want.
"There also comes the competition side of it and I want to win that competition and I want to be the guy out on the field leading this team."
One thing about Foles, while he won a Super Bowl, he's started just 13 games combined over the last four seasons. His career-high was 11 starts in 2015 for the St. Louis Rams.
He's been the No. 2 guy several times, with Michael Vick and Carson Wentz during two stints in Philadelphia, and with Alex Smith in Kansas City. Foles was brought in to be the starter in Jacksonville last year, but he suffered a broken clavicle in the season opener and ended up playing just four games.
So maybe Trubisky should keep trying to traverse the path of becoming Bears quarterback of the future. They did give up three high picks to move up one spot in the draft to take him, after all.
The actual quarterback competition has yet to begin since the NFL canceled the traditional OTAs due to the coronavirus. It's possible there could be a condensed training camp and fewer preseason games, although nothing has been decided.
"I think because it's a small sample size, I think that advantage goes to me just because I've been the starter here the last two years," Trubisky said. "These are my guys, my teammates and guys I've built super strong relationships the last two years. But at the end of the day it comes down to on-field performance.
"I'm excited for the process and I know it will be a good healthy competition for all the guys in our room. We're just going to push each other and make our team better."