Trubisky takes final rookie step

Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky never expected to line up under center only five games into his rookie season with the Chicago Bears.

With one game left, Trubisky would now like nothing better than to provide tangible evidence of how far he has come since becoming the starter.

Against a backdrop of uncertainty over the coaching staff for next year, Trubisky on Dec. 31 closes his first season against the Vikings, the same team he lost to, 20-17, at Soldier Field on Oct. 7 in his NFL debut.

“I think every situation’s different,” Trubisky said. “For me personally, I wanted to be thrown in as quickly as possible, but I respected and appreciated the plan they had for me, and I think it worked out.

Trubisky was supposed to play behind Mike Glennon, but eight turnovers in a three-game stretch led to a quarterback change for the first Vikings game.

Trubisky has won just four of his 11 starts and has a passer rating of 78.5, but calls his forced playing time a success.

As the Bears have removed restraints on Trubisky, he’s put up bigger and better numbers. In the last four games, Trubisky is 82-for-116 (71 percent) for 880 yards. He had completed 53 percent for an average of 162 yards over his first seven games.

After being taken 1-2 in the 2016 NFL draft, Rams quarterback Jared Goff and Eagles QB Carson Wentz made drastic improvement in Year 2. Trubisky, chosen second this year, anticipates something similar.

“I expect to make a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2,” Trubisky said. “The experience I’ve got this year, I’m definitely going to carry that with me into the offseason, going into next year, and expect to have a lot of momentum...going into next year.”