The Infantry: Recapping Bears rookie performances from Week 2 of the preseason

The Chicago Bears seemingly set Mitch Trubisky up to not repeat his performance from last week.

Why is that? Who knows? Maybe it was to prove a point that Mike Glennon would be their starter. They played Glennon the entire first half, and Trubisky didn’t even play until there were two minutes left in the third quarter. That’s clearly not the best way to give more NFL exposure to the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Regardless of whatever off-the-field politics there may or may not be, Trubisky had a solid outing on Saturday night. He completed six of his eight passing attempts, throwing for 60 yards and one touchdown. His 135.4 passer rating was the highest of any other quarterback in the game.

His touchdown, which gave the Bears the game-winning touchdown to beat the Arizona Cardinals 24-23, displayed his ability to roll out and throw on the run with precision.

Although he was sacked once (nearly twice, had it not been for a penalty), he still put up solid numbers and flashed accuracy, agility and good decision making that he did last week.

Even if the Bears want to start Glennon right away, they should at least promote Trubisky to the second string on the depth chart. He’s clearly earned it.

Tarik Cohen had yet another phenomenal game, as well. With both Jordan Howard and Jeremy Langford out due to injury, the rookie got the start. He ran for 77 yards on just 11 carries. He displayed his game-changing speed and elusiveness on several big-gain runs.

Cohen is looking more like a great pick each week. If he can stay healthy, then he can be a fantastic change-of-pace back to throw defenses off after trying to bring down Jordan Howard.

Fellow rookie running back Josh Rounds, however, has not been so lucky thus far. He ran for only 18 yards on nine carries, in addition to having a reception for 13 yards. 17 of those rushing yards came off of one play, which shows just how ineffective he was for much of the game. The undrafted free agent out of Tulane is basically guaranteed to not make the 53-man roster, but with another bad game, it could be tough for him to find a team after Chicago.

Adam Shaheen had another lackluster performance, only catching one pass for nine yards. His athleticism for his massive size was a huge selling point of his heading into the draft, but he has yet to put it to use. His routes have been fairly sloppy, and he has had trouble even staying on his feet. It was known that he was a work in progress, but this project make take more than a year to develop.

Eddie Jackson has been impressive throughout the preseason as well, despite not putting up flashy numbers. He returned two punts for 19 yards, and he nearly had a one-handed interception in the end zone. The play still got recognized in the playbook as a deflected pass, though.

Jackson has been getting more first-team reps alongside Quintin Demps. If he continues his solid preseason, then Adrian Amos could be out of a starting job soon.

Undrafted free agent Freddie Stevenson caught a pass out of the backfield for a gain of 17 yards. Michael Burton has been getting the first-team fullback reps, so Stevenson would likely be the odd man out if they choose to keep a fullback. However, he could be a solid option to make the practice squad.

Tanner Gentry had a slightly better game than he did last week, racking up two receptions for 19 yards. He has yet to prove himself on special teams, though. Considering that Deonte Thompson returned a missed field goal for a 109-yard touchdown, Gentry will likely have to impress more in the third phase if he wants to truly secure a roster spot.

Offensive lineman Jordan Morgan only played one snap against Arizona. Considering that he’s a fifth-round pick, that is simply unacceptable. The Bears’ second-team offensive line isn’t all that impressive, either, which makes his lack of playing time disappointing. He might not even make the 53-man roster if he doesn’t step up in the coming weeks.