Arkush: Bears would be crazy to risk Trubisky on Thursday
Talk about raining all over Chicago Bears fans' parade.
Head coach Matt Nagy unleashed a fire hose on it Tuesday when he strode into the media room and announced that Mitch Trubisky has a sore right (throwing) shoulder and his status for the Bears' “Turkey Bowl” in Detroit is uncertain.
Adding insult to the injury, it occurred with just 3:13 to play Sunday night, when Vikings All-Pro S Harrison Smith was flagged 15 yards for roughing Trubisky at the end of a 5-yard scramble.
Trubisky attempted just one more pass after the injury, missing badly on a 3rd-and-4 throw at the Vikings 30 that set up Cody Parkey's field goal.
So how serious is this, and how concerned should Bears fans be? Here's what Nagy was willing to tell us.
“Yeah, no, I'm sure you guys can understand, I'm not going to get into the actual details of everything with his shoulder,” he said. “We've done our testing on it. And we know exactly where he's at.
“But out of respect to us and the player and where we're at, I'm not going to get into the details of it.”
What Nagy did say, in response to whether he has any long term concerns about Trubisky's shoulder was: “No. We're at a point right now, we're going through all that literally on a day-to-day type deal, but we feel very confident it's not [long term].”
Asked if there is any chance Trubisky will require surgery, Nagy answered with a firm, “No.”
The injury comes at a strange time for the Bears, as they actually are not practicing this week because of the short turnaround for Thursday, having walk-throughs only before traveling Wednesday.
But Nagy did say if the club had practiced Monday or Tuesday, Trubisky would not have participated. That and one other comment Nagy offered should tell us everything we need to know.
When asked specifically if Trubisky could go Thursday in Detroit, Nagy said, “What's my sense? I'm saying cautiously optimistic but I can't make any promises. I hope he does. But it's a day-to-day thing for us, like I said.
“He wants to play. I know that. And for us, but we got to make sure in these situations that we're doing the right thing.”
We can't fault Nagy for not wanting to tip his hand, but here's the “other comment” that I believe tells us everything we need to know.
Nagy said the plan is to treat the Trubisky injury exactly as they did the Khalil Mack and Allen Robinson injuries: with real caution.
As you may recall, the Bears elected to let both players try and go against New England after suffering ankle and groin injuries, respectively, in Miami, and both were ineffective vs. the Pats, appeared to struggle more as the game went on and then both were sidelined for the next two weeks.
Plus, if Trubisky didn't throw on Tuesday, how is he going to play on Thursday? And because of the short week, if he does rest they get two full weeks to rehab him and try and have him ready for the Giants a week from Sunday.
Based on the little we know but all we've learned to date about Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace, I don't see any way anybody but Chase Daniel or Tyler Bray is under center for the Bears on Thanksgiving, nor do I see any way there should be.
It isn't just what Nagy said Tuesday, it was the look on his face as he talked.
More than that, right now Trubisky is the franchise, and a more serious injury to his throwing shoulder could undo most or all of what the Bears have accomplished in their great start to Nagy's inaugural campaign.
Unless this is a miniscule boo-boo on Mitch's shoulder, which we know it's not or he would be throwing and prepping, the Bears would be crazy to risk him in Detroit in a game they can win behind Daniel.
There aren't a lot of cardinal rules in the NFL but one is under no circumstances should you ever mess with the “Franchise.”
• Hub Arkush, the executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at harkush@profootballweekly.com or on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.