Opinion: Glennon, Not Trubisky, Should be Bears' Quarterback

After Chicago Bears quarterback Mike Glennon threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in Sunday's loss to the Buccaneers, the calls for his ouster as the starter have reached fever pitch.

Glennon, who signed on as the teams quarterback and then watched the team draft Mitch Trubisky with the second overall pick in April, has been told all along that he's the man for the team this season, but patience is undoubtedly strained after his poor performance Sunday.

In the hours after the Bears’ loss, countless columnists and thousands of fans have called for Trubisky to be under center when the Bears play the Steelers in Week 3, and although head coach John Fox said he isn't considering such a move, no one would blame him if he did.

After all, Trubisky was electric in the preseason, while Glennon was pedestrian at best. Wouldn't Trubisky, whose athleticism and throwing arm led the Bears to trade away a boat load of assets to draft him, give the team their best chance to win?

He certainly would, but that shouldn't be the determining factor on who the Bears’ quarterback is.

For better or worse, Glennon should remain the team’s starter, at least for a while. The team is paying him over $18 million in guaranteed money to start this year, but even that isn't the main reason why he should be starting on Sundays.

The main reason is that the Bears need to protect, and nurture, the man they hope is their quarterback of the future, and that plan goes out the window if he's thrust into action now.

On Sunday alone the Bears lost their starting right guard and their backup left guard to injuries. They have lost wide receivers faster than they can replace them. Their running back left Raymond James Stadium in a sling.

Does that really sound like the foundation of lasting success for Trubisky?

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It doesn't, and that's why the Bears need to keep Glennon on the field. He has 14 weeks to show his next employer that he has the ability and the fortitude to be an NFL quarterback, and although this is hardly an ideal situation, it's one where it makes more sense to let the veteran take the licks and try to work his way through adversity.

Putting your potential future star behind this line and on a field with this dearth of weapons would all but ensure that Trubisky would, at best, struggle and be forced to deal with shaken confidence and, at worst, result in him getting hurt while trying to deal with the team’s lack of healthy options.

Let Trubisky continue to watch from the sidelines, and let Glennon do what he's getting paid to do: keep the quarterback job warm for a player who ideally won't see the field until 2018.