Chicago Bears actually in a pretty good place with Trubisky right now
It is impossible to talk football in Chicago and the surrounding areas these days without someone, almost everyone, throwing shade or worse at Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
The irony is that right now NFL fans in Indianapolis, Jacksonville, New York, Carolina, New Orleans and Pittsburgh just might pay a king's ransom to have the Bears' QB under center.
Week 2 of the NFL's centennial season brought carnage and change at the NFL's most important position like none the game has seen in recent history, and possibly never before.
Before the season, the Indianapolis Colts' Andrew Luck shocked the football world by announcing his retirement at 29. Less than a half into the first week of the season, Nick Foles, the new great hope in Jacksonville, went down for at least the first half of the season with a broken collarbone in his non-throwing shoulder.
Before Week 2, the New York Jets' Sam Darnold was sidelined for at least three or four weeks, if not longer, with mononucleosis.
During Week 2, Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints' future Hall of Famer, went out for at least six weeks with torn ligaments in his thumb.
One of Brees' likely neighbors in the Hall, “Big Ben” Roethlisberger was lost for the season with a torn UCL in his elbow, former NFL MVP Cam Newton aggravated a foot injury that will sideline him for the foreseeable future, and Darnold's backup in New York, Trevor Siemian, was lost for the season as well.
On Tuesday, the New York Giants benched Eli Manning, another likely Hall of Famer, in favor of first-round draft choice Daniel Jones, most likely winding down the career of the greatest quarterback legacy in the game's history, including Eli's dad, Archie, and big brother Peyton.
How does Trubisky look to you now, Bears fans?
Think for a minute about the impact on the game of losing Brees, Roethlisberger, Manning and Newton all in the same week with six Super Bowl appearances between them, five rings and 25 Pro Bowls?
Between Foles, Manning and Brees, they also share four Super Bowl MVPs.
Among these offenses now starting backup QBs, the Saints were thought by many to be the best team in the NFC, and the smart money was on the Steelers to win the AFC North.
New Orleans will have to win with Teddy Bridgewater, while Pittsburgh will start Mason Rudolph.
Who would you rather have under center, Bridgewater, Rudolph or Trubisky?
Let's move past all the recent quarterback carnage and consider clubs looking to stabilize their quarterback position.
Washington will start Case Keenum this week, Tampa Bay Jameis Winston, Minnesota Kirk Cousins, Buffalo Josh Allen, Miami Ryan Fitzpatrick, Cincinnati Andy Dalton, Tennessee Marcus Mariota and Denver Joe Flacco.
Winston and Mariota were picked 1 and 2 two seasons before the Bears took Trubisky, and both have bounced up and down and are now in make-or-break seasons for their jobs.
Which, if any, of those starting QBs are an easy choice over Mitch Trubisky?
I'm sure some Bears fans will argue for one or two, but the answer obviously is that none are an easy pick or a slam dunk.
The Eagles, Cowboys, Falcons, Packers, Lions, Seahawks, Rams, Patriots, Texans, Chiefs and Chargers are the only teams in the NFL almost certainly better off than the Bears right now at quarterback, with the jury still very much out on Jimmy Garroppolo, Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield and Derek Carr.
The worst case for the Bears is their quarterback situation today with Trubisky is better than at least half the league, quite possibly more.
I don't know exactly what kind of quarterback Trubisky will have been when his Bears history is written, and in another 6-8 weeks I think everyone is going to have to take a position.
But right now the Bears are in much better shape under center than a lot of folks realize, at least as it compares to teams they're trying to beat.
• Hub Arkush, the executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at harkush@profootballweekly.com or on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.