The Chicago Bears will release quarterback Mike Glennon before the start of the new league year, General Manager Ryan Pace said Wednesday.
Pace announced the decision at the NFL scouting combine, confirming the move that had been rumored for months. When asked why Glennon failed in Chicago, Pace deflected to focus more on the success of Mitch Trubisky.
"There’s kind of multiple factors that go into that," Pace said. "I think the thing that stands out, as I look back, is it was really Mitch’s acceleration too. So it was kind of two fold. I can just sit back now and be happy that, hey, we have a guy we feel good about, a young quarterback we want to build around.”
Glennon signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the team last March, assuming the role of starting quarterback.
However, in a surprise move the following month, the Bears then traded up to draft Trubisky with the second overall pick, without telling Glennon – signalling that the team planned long-term to move in a different direction.
Pace and then-coach John Fox were initially emphatic in their support of Glennon as the season’s starter, wanting to give Trubisky time to develop. But after four games – in which Glennon threw five interceptions and lost three fumbles – the team handed the reins over to the rookie.
The second year of Glennon’s contract was worth $12.5 million, a price the Bears deemed too steep to pay a backup quarterback.
