The Bears trading for Nick Foles makes no sense now

The Bears’ decision to trade for Nick Foles looks more complicated now that Mitchell Trubisky is set to start.

The Nick Foles era with the Chicago Bears got off to a rough start as the quarterback failed to secure the starting job coming out of training camp, according to a report from Adam Schefter.

Now, a few months after the Bears made a trade for the quarterback everyone thought would be their 2020 starter, they’re right back where they started.

The Foles trade now looks like quite the headscratcher, unless the Bears are playing the long game.

Nick Foles couldn’t beat out Mitchell Trubisky for the Bears starting job.

On the one hand, it sure looks shaky for Foles right now.

The veteran quarterback has a Super Bowl win under his belt, but he couldn’t surpass Trubisky, whose mediocre play had Chicago looking for another quarterback this offseason.

That means the Bears completely wasted a trade, one which will see them paying a backup guaranteed money for three seasons. Or, on the other hand, it might be unfair to write Foles off just yet.

The Bears traded a fourth-round pick (which became linebacker Shaquille Quarterman) for Foles back in March. When they did so they might not have guessed the coronavirus pandemic would stretch so long. Foles certainly didn’t get the kind of offseason introduction in Chicago he might have gotten in other years.

It’s possible Foles simply needs more time to settle in before taking the reigns from Trubisky.

That’s a generous read of the situation though.

For one, Foles was supposed to know the system already. Chicago quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo was the QB coach when Foles won the title with the Eagles. His familiarity with the staff and system was one of the reasons the Bears brought him in.

If it really is a timing issue, then the Bears are potentially sacrificing September to give Trubisky, the former No. 2 overall pick, one last chance to save his career in Chicago instead of going all-in on the quarterback who will be on their books for the next three years.

As is often said, ‘If you have two quarterbacks, you don’t have one.” The Bears already revealed their lack of confidence on Trubisky. Now they’re doing the same to Foles.