Mitchell Trubisky's 5th-Year Option Reportedly Would've Cost Bears an Absurd Amount of Money
By Mark Powell
The Bears declined Mitchell Trubisky's fifth-year option on Saturday, essentially putting him on the clock to fulfill some of the potential Ryan Pace saw in him in 2017. If not, he'll be shown the door.
While all of this is true, unless Trubisky had played at a Pro Bowl level in 2019, it's unlikely Pace would've ever considered picking up his option. Frankly, the financial hit wouldn't have been worth it, especially considering the price they paid for Nick Foles.
The fifth-year option that the Bears declined for Mitchell Trubisky would have paid him $24.837 million in 2021, source says.
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) May 2, 2020
Few quarterbacks are worth $25 million in their fourth year, and Trubisky certainly hasn't proven himself yet, despite his deceptive 2018 Pro Bowl campaign.
The UNC product will be tested by Foles in what's expected to be an open QB competition once offseason activities are allowed to resume. It's only fair, and Chicago is merely exploring their options, ironically enough.
The #Bears are declining the fifth-year option on QB Mitch Trubisky, source said.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 2, 2020
The team has liked Trubisky’s attitude since the Nick Foles trade and it’ll be an open competition. A chance for Trubisky to make himself a lot of money before his contract expires next March.
Trubisky still has the same promise as when Chicago traded up to take him over the likes of Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. While it's unlikely he reaches those heights, even a competent 2020 season will hand him the starting job in Chicago moving forward from there.