March 28, 2024

Fox says Bears sticking with Glennon as starting quarterback

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Mike Glennon remains the Chicago Bears’ starting quarterback. The wait for No. 2 overall draft pick Mitchell Trubisky continues.

Coach John Fox said the Bears won’t be changing quarterbacks for their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend despite a rough outing by Glennon in his return to Tampa Bay as Chicago fell to 0-2.

“Mike Glennon will be our starting quarterback against Pittsburgh and we’re going to do everything we can to get him prepared,” Fox said Monday. “Not just Mike Glennon, our whole football team.”

He insisted the Bears “still feel pretty good” with the fifth-year pro and the problems in their 29-7 loss to the Buccaneers go beyond the quarterback.

Glennon struggled to move the offense through the first three quarters in a 23-17 season-opening loss to Atlanta

Chicago missed several chances to score a touchdown in the final seconds of that game. Against Tampa Bay, Glennon flopped in the city where he spent his first four years. He threw two interceptions with one getting returned for a touchdown and lost a fumble on a sack, leading to another TD, after playing turnover-free ball in the opener.

“I think after two games it’s really hard to evaluate somebody,” Fox said. “We’re playing arguably one of the better teams we’re going to play this year at home. We’re going to do everything in our power to look a little bit like we did in Week 1 than in Week 2. It gives us a chance.”

The Bears are a combined 0-8 in September in three seasons under Fox. They also go from hosting Pittsburgh to visiting Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers for a Thursday night game.

Even if the Bears were at full strength, this would be a tough spot to start a rookie quarterback. And they are far from full strength.

Top receivers Cameron Meredith and Kevin White are on injured reserve. Running back Jordan Howard hurt his shoulder in the opener and ran for just 7 yards against Tampa Bay.

An offensive line that was already missing Kyle Long took a few more hits against the Buccaneers with Josh Sitton (ribs) and Tom Compton (hip) leaving the game.

Tight end Zach Miller called Glennon “very capable.”

He said the Bears struggled “across the board.”

Even so, Glennon has done little to settle a debate that picked up steam in the preseason.