Bears will decide on Trubisky’s 5th year option in May and other news from Pace’s presser

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace may still “believe” in Mitchell Trubisky, but he’s waiting until May to make a decision on picking up the 5th-year option on his contract. He also said that possible changes to the CBA, which could make the 5th-year option guaranteed, wouldn’t affect their plans.

Pace also may have mentioned that their current plan is to have Trubisky — who is the only QB on the roster — be their starting quarterback in 2020, but he also said that they will explore options in free agency and the draft to add competition at the position.

He said the plan is to have the injured Bears, Trubisky, Anthony Miller, Akiem Hicks, Roquan Smith, and Trey Burton, to all be “full go” by training camp.

On the disappointing production they received from the tight end position, “That’s an area of focus for us. I don’t think that’s a secret. This offense, a lot of it goes through the tight end. We’re exploring every avenue.”

On an Allen Robinson contract extension; Pace said they have had internal discussions about getting it done, “He’s a guy that we would like to be a Bear for a long time.”

He wouldn’t give any specifics on a possible contract for free agent inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, but he did say that inside linebacker is a strength of the team.

On the running backs; he believes that David Montgomery can carry a heavier load as the team’s featured running back, Pace said, “we like Ryan Nall a lot,” and he also said that they can envision allowing Cordarrelle Patterson to compete for a larger role at running back.

Pace again talked about how much they like outside linebacker Leonard Floyd as a football player.

New corner Tre Roberson, who was in the CFL the last couple of years, was mentioned. “He’s an intriguing player,” Pace said via the Chicago Sun Times. “Really good ball skills, really good anticipation and instincts. He has — I’m not comparing him to [cornerback Kyle] Fuller — but he has that style of play in how he can anticipate and jump routes.”

Pace is expecting the Bears to get a compensatory pick this year which would give them 8 total picks, the two 2nd-rounders, a comp pick in the 4th, a 5th, two in the 6th, and two 7th-rounders.

On free agency; “We don’t have the cap space we’ve had in previous years, but we also don’t have as many holes to fill.”

You can check out the press conference from the Bears’ Facebook page embedded here.