What will the ‘open competition’ for Bears quarterback look like? And how will Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky handle it? The Bears explain.

a group of people standing in front of a crowd: Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky talks to the media following rookie minicamp at Halas Hall on May 12, 2017.

Nick Foles decided to chip away at the awkwardness with a phone call.

Mitch Trubisky started 41 games over three seasons as the Bears quarterback, and general manager Ryan Pace opened the offseason by declaring him the 2020 starter.

Less than three months later, the Bears traded a fourth-round draft pick to the Jaguars to obtain Foles. And on a conference call with media Friday, Pace declared it an "open competition" between the two to decide who would be their quarterback.

So Foles gave Trubisky a call.

Hi Mitch, I'm the man trying to take your job?

Foles likely was more considerate than that. After all, the eight-year NFL veteran has several seasons of experience with tricky quarterback situations, most recently in Jacksonville, when rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew replaced him, first because of injury and then because of performance.

a man wearing a suit and tie: Mitch Trubisky arrives at Halas Hall for interviews after being drafted as the No. 2 pick by the Bears on April 28, 2017.

"Really just starting on the right foot," Foles said. "Competition and all that is great, but it can be unhealthy with a team that's filled with a bunch of egos. Trust me, I get the situation. Mitch has been there for a couple years, Mitch has been the quarterback, and I'm respectful to that situation. I'm going to ... be the best support system I can for him, whatever we're doing.

"But when I'm playing, I'm going to be me in the huddle. I'm going to do what I have to do in the huddle to execute that play that (Bears coach Matt) Nagy called at that moment. Ultimately our goal is to help the Bears be the best team. But I thought it was important to have that conversation, just to get started on the right foot."

The Bears did conference calls with Pace, Foles, Nagy and pass rusher Robert Quinn on Friday — but not Trubisky — so for now we'll have to take the word of Pace and Nagy about how the 2017 No. 2 draft pick took the news that his job no longer is secure.

$a man wearing a suit and tie: Mitch Trubisky takes a fist-bump from a Bears staffer on\u00a0April 28, 2017, between interviews following a news conference at Halas Hall.$ © Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune/TNS Mitch Trubisky takes a fist-bump from a Bears staffer on\u00a0April 28, 2017, between interviews following a news conference at Halas Hall.

Pace said Friday that the Bears still are not ready to address whether they will pick up Trubisky's fifth-year option for 2021.

"If you're a competitor and you care, right away you're going to be fired up and you're going to be ready to go," Nagy said. "The competitor that Mitch is, the way that he was with us, was really neat to see because he embraced it. It wasn't about excuses. It wasn't about anything other than, 'OK, I understand that. … We're going to compete, and you're going to get the best that I've got.' "

Nagy went on to say the coaches will do their best to make the competition "completely fair." When the Bears step on the field for the first time this year — which is unknown at this point because of coronavirus restrictions — Trubisky will go into the huddle first. But after that, Nagy said the reps will be equal and he envisions Foles and Trubisky playing in preseason games. Other details still need to be worked out given the uncertainty of the NFL's offseason programs.

Kyle Padron wearing a suit and tie: Mitch Trubisky, the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NFL draft, is interviewed on April 28, 2017, following a news conference at Halas Hall.

As were Pace's comments when he declared Trubisky the starter in January, the "open competition" label is up for debate.

Trubisky has the foundation of two years in Nagy's offense and familiarity with most of the current offensive personnel, though that didn't help much in 2019 when Trubisky ran the NFL's 29th-ranked offense in yards per game. But the familiarity can't be discounted if team offseason activities are severely shortened.

Foles, who noted he had to accept a contract restructuring in order for the trade to the Bears to go through, isn't totally behind.

He has worked with Nagy, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo at various stops, and he said he has a "strong infrastructure" when it comes to knowledge of Nagy's offense. Nagy said Foles is probably at a point now where he could get by in a game, and Foles already is working to improve that. He has been watching video cut-ups and jotting down questions for coaches so he can work to "understand this offense just as good if not better than the coaches."

a group of baseball players playing a football game: Quarterback Mitch Trubisky walks with Bears offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains at rookie minicamp at Halas Hall on May 12, 2017.

Foles never has started a full 16 games in a season, so he always has shared the quarterback spotlight. That included the Rams benching him in 2015 and going from being Carson Wentz's backup to the Super Bowl MVP to Wentz's backup again during the Eagles' 2017 and 2018 seasons.

a screenshot of a cell phone screen with text: The Bears introduce Mitch Trubisky after drafting him with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NFL draft during a news conference at Halas Hall on April 28, 2017.

© Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune/TNS The Bears introduce Mitch Trubisky after drafting him with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NFL draft during a news conference at Halas Hall on April 28, 2017.

As Minshew took over for him twice in 2019, Foles said he pulled the rookie aside several times to have conversations about doing what was best for the team, as hard as that was for Foles. The experiences should only help as he settles into an uncertain situation in his new quarterback room.

"The big thing is you've got to be able to speak to one another and have conversations and put everything on the table about what you're going through as a human being," Foles said. "Especially in the NFL, there are a lot of egos. Guys are very confident. Guys want to play. Guys want to be out there. It's hard not to. I've gone through it myself as a player. ... But that's where I believe in humbling yourself before you walk through the doors. Do what's best for the team. And at times, that's extremely difficult."

Facing the awkwardness head-on seems like a good first step.

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What will the ‘open competition’ for Bears quarterback look like? And how will Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky handle it? The Bears explain.

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