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Monday 7 September 2020 12:35, UK
The Chicago Bears have named Mitchell Trubisky as their starting quarterback to open the 2020 season, beating off competition from Super Bowl LII winner Nick Foles.
Bears coach Matt Nagy said Trubisky "won the job" in announcing he will take the first snap against the Detroit Lions in Sunday's season opener.
"This was going be a fair battle for both of these guys," Nagy said on a Zoom call with reporters. "Both these guys were really battling their tail off every single day.
"In the end, Mitch won the job and I think that's very important for him, for us, for everybody to understand that he worked really hard to get to this point."
Trubisky, who turned 26 in August, was the No 2 overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. Among the quarterbacks he was selected ahead of include Kansas City Chiefs QB, and current Super Bowl champ, Patrick Mahomes (No 10) and Houston Texans' Deshaun Watson (No 12).
Trubisky finished last season with a tenuous hold on the starting gig, completing 63.2 percent of his passes for 3,138 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as the Bears slumped to an 8-8 record, missing out on the playoffs.
Entering his fourth NFL season, he has completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 8,554 yards, 48 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in 41 games.
Earlier this year, Chicago declined his fifth-year option worth $24.84 million for 2021. The failure to commit to Trubisky for 2021 led some observers to believe Foles - Super Bowl MVP with the Philadelphia Eagle in 2018 - was the favorite to land the job, but Nagy said that Trubisky's decision-making has improved as well as his accuracy and footwork in the pocket.
Trubisky, himself, says he isn't concerned with the past, and is only worrying about the 2020 season, telling reporters: "I control my own destiny and I'm definitely not going to take this opportunity for granted.
"I feel like I got a fresh, new clean slate. And that's how every year should feel. And after winning, after coming out of a competition like that, it's got that sort of feel to it - that it's a new year and we all have a clean slate, and we're not looking back at the past.
"I'm not looking over my shoulder. I'm just going to take advantage of the opportunity ahead and it feels good."
Foles, who was acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars in March to push Trubisky, feels the adjustment period of learning a new offense played a part in the decision.
"I felt good out there," Foles said. "Was I myself, like where I want to be? No, I wasn't, but that's not based on footwork or anything else - that's based on the other circumstances that are out of your control where you are moving your family, you're with a new offense and you're with new players.
"You really get a great time in the spring to go through OTA practices and get those cobwebs out. That's not an excuse - that's just a reality of it all."
Sky and the NFL have agreed a new five-year partnership to broadcast the NFL, the first time the league has joined with an international broadcaster to launch a channel dedicated to the sport.
The agreement marks the 25th anniversary of live NFL coverage on Sky Sports with 'Sky Sports NFL' launched on Thursday, September 3 ahead of the 2020 season, which kicks off on Thursday, September 10.
The brand new in-season channel will be the round-the-clock home of the NFL on television in the UK and Republic of Ireland from the regular season through to the playoffs, with Super Bowl LV live from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Sunday, February 7.
Sky Sports NFL is your dedicated home of the NFL and will feature a minimum of five live games each week, including first-pick exclusive games in the 6pm and 9pm slot every Sunday alongside NFL Redzone and every Thursday Night, Sunday Night, and Monday Night Football.
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