Chicago Sports

Mitch Trubisky is ready to leave Pittsburgh after one failed season with the Steelers and admitted as much in the locker room.

Former Bears QB Mitch Trubisky is ready to move on from his time in Pittsburgh and is hoping for another chance at starting in the NFL.

Mitch Trubisky was very excited to sign with and have the chance to replace Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh.  But after being benched at halftime in the Steelers week four game against the Jets it’s apparent they’re ready to keep moving forward with Kenny Pickett.

Trubisky signed a two-year deal with the Steelers on the first day of free agency and didn’t look around the league much.  The Steelers then drafted Kenny Pickett the hometown college kid who they see as their QB of the future.  With Trubisky still thinking of himself as a starting-caliber QB it will be interesting to see where he winds up this off-season.

Could he wind up in Atlanta where maybe Ryan Pace still sees some good in him?  There will once again be plenty of starting jobs open, but Trubisky may want to temper his goals and hope he can restart his career as a backup that helps develop a young up-and-comer and hope that kid doesn’t work out or is injured and he earns a chance that way.  After two failed chances in Chicago and Pittsburgh his opportunity to be a franchise QB in the NFL are dwindling as is his reputation.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Read More

Back when NFL scoreboards couldn’t be relied upon to keep time, officials kept a starter’s pistol on the sideline. As the clock wound to zero, an official — starting in 1965, it was line judge — would fire the gun in the air to signify the end of a quarter.

The NFL scrapped the practice at the end of the 1993 season, but the colloquialism — to play until the final gun — lived on. While it’s fair to wonder whether a tanking Bears team did that in Sunday’s 29-13 loss to the Vikings on Sunday, there’s no question that the men running the first 14-loss team in franchise history need to take the concept of the starter’s pistol literally.

When the final gun sounded Sunday, general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus ran out of excuses. So did quarterback Justin Fields, who should benefit from having more skilled teammates next season. They need to begin running — sprinting — in a race to build a winning team.

The Bears will have the most money in the NFL to spend — and, thanks to a fourth-and-20 Hail Mary by the Texas on Sunday afternoon, the draft’s No. 1 overall pick. They’ll also have a roster that, by design, has more holes than almost any other team in football.

For the first time, they’ll have expectations: to build the Bears into a winner.

Eberflus has spent the season saying that his expectations are the same every week.

“The standard is the standard,” he’s said dozens of times.

Now the standard is changing, even if the coach won’t acknowledge it.

“To me that’s outside the locker room,” he pushed back Sunday. “We can’t control those things, and, again, we’re focused on our standard, how we operate in practice, in the meetings, and in the game.”

Their failures can no longer be met by the cheers of a sliver of the fan base that rooted against the Bears every week with hopes of improving their draft status. They can no longer claim that close losses mean anything. They can longer be judged against the low expectations that they set with their own roster construction.

No one in the Bears’ locker room celebrated a three-win season, draft pick or not. Running back David Montgomery was asked how to define it.

“Unfortunate,” he said. “Just unfortunate. It’s just unfortunate.”

In his first year, what Poles accomplished required all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

Poles traded the team’s three best defensive players (Roquan Smith, Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn) and paid dearly for the privilege, paying a league-high $93.3 million in dead cap charges. The league average was almost one-third as much.

The one win-now move Poles made — trading his own second-round pick to the Steelers for receiver Chase Claypool — has thus far been a dud. Only one of the one-year flyer free agent contracts he handed out prompted a contract extension — and that was a one-year deal for Equanimeous St. Brown. Cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker were acceptable second-round draft picks, but wouldn’t you rather have Steelers receiver George Pickens?

Tearing the team down required Poles to hold his nose and make a move. Rebuilding requires panache. It’s an exercise in precision and creativity.

Can Poles pull it off? Can Eberflus coach them up?

Eberflus could go 11-6 in his next two seasons and still have a worse winning percentage than Matt Nagy did. Without wins to support his proof of concept, Eberflus spent the season talking about establishing a winning culture and enforcing his H.I.T.S. principle.

“I think one of the main focuses of this year was to build a foundational floor to build up, and I think we did that,” he said. “That’s a credit to those players in that locker room. They did a really good job.”

In that context, maybe. But by no other definition.

That needs to change. Starting now.

Read More

White Sox closer Liam Hendriks announced on Instagram that he recently was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and will begin treatment Monday.

“Hearing the word ‘Cancer’ came as a shock to my wife and I, as it does to millions of families each year,” Hendriks said. “However, I am resolved to embrace the fight and overcome this new challenge with the same determination I have used when facing other obstacles in my life.

“I am confident that I will make a full recovery and be back on the mound as soon as possible. I know with the support of my wife, my family, my teammates and the Chicago White Sox organization, along with the treatment and care from my doctors, I will get through this.”

Sox general manager Rick Hahn released a statement:

“Our thoughts and reactions at this time are for Liam the person, not Liam the baseball player. I know the entire Chicago White Sox organization, our staff, his teammates, and certainly White Sox fans, will rally in support of Liam and Kristi during the coming months.

“Knowing everyone involved, especially Liam, we are optimistic he will pitch again for the White Sox as soon as viable. In the meantime, we all will do everything in our power to support our teammate and his family as they face this challenge, while also respecting their privacy.

Hahn said the Sox don’t expect to have any updates on Hendriks’ playing status before Opening Day.

Read More

Read More

If you’re a Bears fan, you were asking fate to do one thing for you Sunday. Just one. You were asking for same-day delivery of the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.

And you, having dealt with so much pain and disappointment over the years because of your devotion to this franchise, were expecting what in response? Probably a UPS van full of derisive laughter.

Instead, the unexpected happened, which is to say that happy happened. The Bears lost to the Vikings, and the Texans beat the Colts, the exact result needed to bring the first pick in the 2023 draft to Chicago. The Bears haven’t had the first overall selection since 1947, when they drafted Oklahoma A&M halfback Bob Fenimore, who lasted just one season because of injuries. I’d tell you to ignore that sad trivia, but I’m guessing it’s floating in your marrow.

Let’s talk present day. There were two big goals for this season. Just two. The first was to see development from quarterback Justin Fields, and that happened, though perhaps not in the way many people would have expected. The second in a rebuilding season was to lose as many games as possible in order to improve the team’s draft position. No one in the organization would say such a thing out loud, but it was loud and clear in the substandard roster that general manager Ryan Poles put together and in his decision to trade top defenders Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn during the season. No apologies necessary for the approach. A 3-14 record, setting a franchise record for losses in a season, turned out to be a big winner Sunday.

You can thank Texans coach Lovie Smith, the former Bears coach, for pulling off a last-gasp, 32-31 victory over the Colts. A loss would have given his team the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Instead, Houston will get the second pick overall. I’m not sure why someone in the Texans organization didn’t call down to the sideline late in the game and tell Smith to wake up and get on with the losing. But he didn’t lose, bless him, and the Bears are the beneficiary of whatever you want to call what he did. Lunacy? Maybe. Or maybe Smith knows he’s not long for his gig in Houston and left a going-away present.

Now, you can argue that the history of No. 1 overall picks isn’t great or that 2023 doesn’t look to be a strong draft or that one is the loneliest number, but I’d rather have the top pick than not. There’s very little downside to having it, unless you wouldn’t know an offensive lineman from an offensive joke.

What should the Bears do with the No. 1 pick? At this moment, in early January, trading it makes the most sense. This team has so many holes, it could hold two drafts and still not have enough players coming to the rescue. The Bears need to get help at wide receiver and on the offensive line if they want to further Fields’ development and make sure he’s still ambulatory in 20 years. They need help almost everywhere on defense. It’s true that they’ll have the most salary cap space in the league to attract free agents, but this entire endeavor is a numbers game. The larger the number of talented players in uniform next season, the better chance the Bears have of turning things around in the years to come. It’s why trading the No. 1 pick to get three or four more draft picks should be the goal.

After Sunday’s 29-13 loss, Bears coach Matt Eberflus talked about how hard his team played this season and how that would pay dividends when the talent level rises. It’s the kind of thing coaches say. You know what the best team “culture” is? The one that’s built by winning, not by corporate leadership books.

The Bears are married to Fields, at least as far as this rebuild is concerned, but I’d love to know what Poles really thinks of his quarterback. If we agree that much of what comes out of the mouths of coaches and general managers publicly has little resemblance to the truth, we don’t really know if Poles thinks Fields is going to be a good passing quarterback. He knows that Fields can run, as proven by his 1,143 rushing yards this season. The kid is the most exciting athlete in Chicago sports since the 2010-11 version of Derrick Rose. Fields didn’t play Sunday because of a hip injury, and if it weren’t for the top-pick drama, Chicago would have reacted by napping.

Poles knows he has to build around Fields. Does he know if he can win with him? Does he know if the Bears can win with a running quarterback? Does he think any team can win a Super Bowl with a running quarterback?

It’s entirely possible that Poles is like many of us: He hasn’t the foggiest about what the future holds with Fields, but he sure as hell is looking forward to the show.

This could be good, and the No. 1 pick only helps. It’s what all that losing was for this season. Now, let’s see what the Bears can do with it.

Read More

Bears safety Jaquan Brisker first met Damar Hamlin in eighth grade.

When he saw the Bills safety come close to death Monday night — Hamlin needed CPR on the field in a game against the Bengals the NFL would eventually cancel — Brisker had to walk away. He missed Wednesday’s walk-through but returned to work Thursday.

“Mentally, it was bad,” said Brisker, who, like Hamlin, is from the Pittsburgh area. “I really had to step away from the facility for a little bit and collect my thoughts. But once everything got [better] … everything lifted up off my shoulders.”

Hamlin has spoken to his Bills teammates remotely — most recently, after their win Sunday.

“That’s a difficult time in football and in the world,” Brisker said after Sunday’s 29-13 loss to the Vikings. “You never want to see something like that happen to anyone, not even your worst enemy. I felt like the staff and everybody did a great job of having our back.”

Eberflus said he wanted to give Brisker “the space to breathe and reflect,” even if he had to miss a game. He played Sunday, and posted 10 tackles.

The Bears honored Hamlin the same way many NFL teams did — by outlining the his No. 3 on the 30-yard line and wearing T-shirts expressing their support. Bears starting quarterback Nathan Peterman, a fellow Pitt alum, wore Hamlin’s college jersey into the stadium. Quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, who also went to Pitt, called their alma mater and had two of them shipped.

“It was a crazy moment [when he was hurt],” Peterman said. “Made you think of everything that has happened, what you play for, all those things. But it’s awesome to see him doing better.”

Last one?

Running back David Montgomery took the field knowing that, because he was in the last year of his contract, he might not play another game with the Bears.

“It’s always emotional toward the end of the year, but this one is just a little bit more emotional because of the uncertainty that’s next,” he said. “But I love being here. I feel like I’ve done everything I can and I could, and we’re just gonna see what’s next.

“I appreciate all the Bears fans and everybody who supported me. Hopefully I’m still here.”

Montgomery finished with seven carries for 21 yards,

QB shuffle

Peterman started but the Bears also played backup Tim Boyle in each half.

Peterman went 11-of-19 for 114 yards, one touchdown and a 92.9 passer rating. Boyle, though, went 2-for-8 for 33 yards, two interceptions and a 4.7 passer rating.

“This is a crazy business,” said Peterman, who made his first start since 2018. “I’m thankful for opportunity again. I did have fun out there. Just great to get out there and compete.”

This and that

o The Bears ran for only 118 yards, but that was enough to set a single-season franchise record with 3,014. The 1984 Bears ran for 2,974.

o The Bears are now 0-6 all-time when wearing navy blue jerseys with navy blue pants.

Read More

The Chicago Bears finished with the most losses in franchise history and the only way to celebrate that is to celebrate clinching the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Chicago Bears fans were gathered around the TV in Soldier Field watching the Texans square off against the Colts.  The reaction to the Texans winning the game and thus gifting the  Chicago Bears the number one overall pick was palpable.

Soldier Field the moment the Bears got the #1 pick lol pic.twitter.com/wdMhgunZS3

— Jordan Lazowski (@jlazowski14) January 8, 2023

Bears fans didn’t have much to cheer for this season as the team was in full tear-down mode and they hoped to see growth in Justin Fields.  They saw a little bit of growth from Fields, enough to hopefully put them in a position to build around him for the future.

But Bears fans were cheering like they just won a big playoff game even if it was the Houston Texans doing the winning.  It’s a bit of a consolidation to win by losing, but the Bears have to start somewhere, hopefully they can start by getting a bunch of first-round picks for the number one overall pick.

Read More

As the Bears closed the season with a 29-13 loss to the Vikings, they knew they were assured of the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft thanks to the Texans’ 32-31 upset of the Colts.

They also had their 2023 opponents finalized by the end of the day. Here’s who the Bears will face next season, when they’ll play eight games at Soldier Field and nine on the road:

HomePackersVikingsLionsFalconsPanthersBroncosRaidersRams/Cardinals

AwayPackersVikingsLionChiefsChargersSaintsBuccaneersCommandersBrownsApart from their division games, the Bears are on rotation to face the entire NFC South with home games against the Falcons and Panthers and visits to the Saints and Buccaneers.

Their interconference division is the AFC West with home games against the Broncos and Raiders and away games against the Chiefs and Chargers.

Their remaining three games are the same-place finishers from the NFC West and East and the AFC North. Since the Bears finished last in the NFC North, they’ll host the Rams or Cardinals — both teams are playing now; the Rams are 5-11 and the Cardinals are 4-12 — and visit the Commanders and Browns.

This will be the first time the Bears have played a last-place schedule since 2018, when they went 12-4 and won the division.

Read More

INDIANAPOLIS — Davis Mills threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Akins on fourth down with 50 seconds left in Sunday’s season finale then connected with Akins on the 2-point conversion to give Houston a 32-31 victory at Indianapolis — costing the Texans the first pick in April’s draft.

Houston (3-13-1) won twice in the final three weeks to finish second to the Bears in draft positioning.

Indy (4-12-1) lost its seventh straight under interim coach Jeff Saturday, assuring themselves of a top-five draft selection.

But it didn’t come without some surprises. Sam Ehlinger threw two touchdown passes and led the Colts to scores on three consecutive late drives to erase a 10-point deficit and give Indy a 31-24 lead with 3:33 to play.

Mills finally answered with a 30-yard completion on fourth-and-12 to move Houston to the Indy 18-yard line with 1:26 left. And after throwing two incompletions and getting sacked on third down, Mills’ throw to the end zone went through the hands of Colts safety Rodney Thomas II and into the hands of Akins.

Indy got one more shot, but couldn’t move the ball into scoring position and Ehlinger’s final heave was knocked down short of the goal line.

For the Colts, it was yet another ugly chapter in their miserable season. Houston jumped to a 10-0 lead before Indy even ran an offensive play.

But Mills’ miscues fueled Indy’s comeback.

Rodney McLeod Jr. returned the first of Mills’ two interceptions for a 26-yard touchdown return that cut the deficit to 24-21 with 52 seconds left in the third quarter.

Three plays later, Thomas II, a high school teammate of Bills safety Damar Hamlin, picked off Mills and Ehlinger capitalized by throwing a 4-yard TD pass to Mo Alie-Cox to give Indy a 28-24 lead with 10:30 to go.

Indy thought it had sealed the win with a 54-yard field goal from Chase McLaughlin.

Again, though the defense failed to close it out.

Mills finished 22 of 38 with 298 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions as Brandin Cooks caught five passes for 106 yards.

Ehlinger, the former Texas star, was 23 of 35 with 209 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions as he fell to 0-3 as an NFL starter.

Zack Moss had 18 carries and 114 yards and a touchdown for Indy.

INJURY REPORT

Texans: Tight end Brevin Jordan left in the first half with a knee injury and did not return. Safety Jalen Pitre left after the first play of the fourth quarter and was diagnosed with a concussion.

Colts: Right tackle Braden Smith injured his left ankle late in the fourth quarter and did not return. Safety-return specialist Dallis Flowers went into the blue tent after fumbling on his first kickoff return of the game but eventually returned.

UP NEXT

Texans: Will be weighing their options with the No. 2 draft pick in April.

Colts: Must figure out if general manager Chris Ballard returns, decide on a coach and whether to draft a quarterback in April.

Read More

It started with a house-cleaning and ended with a surrender. There’s a fine line between a white flag and a red one.

The 2022 Bears season could go down as one of the best bad seasons in franchise history — a necessary first step of a much-needed rebuild. Or maybe just another misstep by a storied NFL franchise wracked by dysfunction for most of the 30 seasons since the end of the Mike Ditka era.

We won’t know just how good or bad this season was until 2023, when the Bears either take a step toward playoff contention or continue to spin their wheels with a familiar combination of failure — underachieving performance, injuries, quarterback stagnation or regression — that leaves them closer to Square One than the postseason.

But as it stands today after completing a 3-14 season with 29-13 loss to the Vikings on Sunday at Soldier Field, Poles’ path has the Bears in position to at least think they’re heading in the right direction. The rest is up to him.

“You look at results for sure, but you also look at having a broader view of what you’re getting done. It’s laying the foundation,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “There’s also development of of the young core players we have … the rookie class — we played a lot of those guys. Second-year players like Justin [Fields and Darnell] Mooney … Cole Kmet is one of those younger-type players.”

And don’t forget the No. 1 overall pick — or whatever bounty that brings.

“Free agency and the draft is no different,” Eberflus said. “It’s up to the coaches to develop those guys and fit them into the schemes so we can play winning football.”

Poles has several holes to fill and question marks at almost every key position heading into the 2023 season — from head coach to offensive and defensive coordinator to No. 1 receiver to quarterback. He’s got a lot to prove, maybe the most to prove.

Poles has been far from perfect in his rookie season. He didn’t trade Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith until mid-season. He didn’t give Justin Fields enough weapons to get a true evaluation of Fields’ passing ability. Rookie Velus Jones looks overdrafted. Poles traded the 32nd pick in the draft for Chase Claypool. The offensive line that is supposed to be Poles’ specialty was underwhelming — not much better, if better at all, than anything Ryan Pace put together in his seven seasons.

But nothing Poles did was defining. There was no trade-up-for-Trubisky moment that will haunt him. Nothing he did indicated he will fail. He hasn’t proven anything, but hasn’t disqualified himself, either.

And that goes for Eberflus as well. Like Poles, Eberflus hasn’t left any red flags that indicated he can’t do this. On the contrary, he’s been pretty good at the head-coaching part of the job. For all the close games the Bears lost this season, there were few if any egregious examples of poor game-management. His defense was a disappointment, even considering the departures and all the rookies starting. The H.I.T.S. is more real than a myth, but still just like any other coaching philosophy — it takes good players to make it work.

Eberflus played to win all season — except maybe at the end. But as the losses piled up he emphasized the foundation the Bears were laying. And like most foundations, this one was mostly underground and hard to see. This team doesn’t have the remnants of Lovie Smith’s defense. It doesn’t have Jay Cutler. It doesn’t have the best defense in football. It’s not a playoff team with Mitch Trubisky. Who knows where this one will end up, but there’s nowhere to go but up. The Bears have never been 3-14, but they’ve been in worse spots than this.

Read More