With the Bears entering a season full of high expectations, one question is asked above all: can quarterback Mitchell Trubisky take the next step?
Trubisky, the Bears' third-year signal-caller, showed positive signs of growth in 2018. The 25-year-old was named an injury replacement in the Pro Bowl and led the Bears to a 12-4 record and postseason appearance. For the Bears to reach new heights as a team in 2019, they'll need Trubisky to take another big step as an NFL quarterback.
"I think he can [take the next step]," said JJ Stankevitz, NBC Sports Chicago's Bears Insider, on the MyTeams NFL Kickoff show. "Had Cody Parkey not had that ridiculous double doink at the end of the Wild Card round, we would be talking about Mitch Trubisky as a guy who led a last-second playoff drive to win a game and send the Bears deeper into the playoffs.
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"I think he can do it. The question is can he do it over the course of a full season. I think Mitch is going to make the incremental gains that the Bears have been talking about needing him to make. That's making better decisions with the football, not having sloppy footwork, hitting more balls downfield. It's going to be smaller gains.
"I don't think you're going to see him have a Patrick Mahomes season or a Deshaun Watson season. But everything that we have heard and seen with Trubisky over the last month tells me he will make a step forward, and that should be a step forward enough to get the Bears back to the playoffs."
Trubisky may not emulate the MVP season of Mahomes from 2018. If he can make positive strides and lead the Bears back to the postseason, though, one would think the team will be in a good position.
However, "good" may not be good enough from Trubisky if the Bears are serious about reaching the Super Bowl. You can read more about that from our John "Moon" Mullin here.
