NFL PLAYER NEWS

Glennon is undisputed No. 1 QB at Bears’ camp

The Sports Xchange

July 27, 2017 at 9:06 pm.

Jul 27, 2017; Bourbonnais, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Mike Glennon (8) rolls out in front of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (10) during Training Camp at Olivet Nazarene University. Photo Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

Jul 27, 2017; Bourbonnais, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Mike Glennon (8) rolls out in front of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (10) during Training Camp at Olivet Nazarene University. Photo Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — Anyone who needed further proof that there is no quarterback battle with the Chicago Bears only needed to see Mark Sanchez taking second-team snaps at Thursday’s first practice.

Mitchell Trubisky, the No. 2 pick in the draft, isn’t even the backup to veteran Mike Glennon.

The Bears said it throughout the offseason — there is no quarterback controversy.

“I think for a young quarterback, you want him to take time and develop behind the scenes,” general manager Ryan Pace said. “I think that can naturally happen.

“But right now, our focus is that Mike Glennon is our starter, and then competition at the backup job.”

About the closest thing to controversy at the position was Sanchez wearing jersey No. 6, Jay Cutler’s old number. How quickly they forget.

Sanchez, now over a knee injury suffered when banging that knee into another player’s knee in OTAs, took snaps with the second team. Third-team snaps for Trubisky on Thursday were less plentiful, but the rookie made the most of them.

The vote of confidence only underscored what Glennon has known since leaving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and signing with the Bears — he really is the starter.

“When I signed here, I already had my mind set on that,” Glennon said. “So it is a different approach when you go into the season as the starter rather than the backup. When you’re the backup, you want to prepare like you’re the starter. It’s just not the same.

“You can try to trick your mind into that as much as you want, but when you are the starter, it’s different. I don’t know that I’ve prepared that much differently. I just think it’s a different mental approach to know what’s coming.”

After the Bears selected Trubisky, it might have looked as if Glennon was merely a place-holder. He’s not treating it that way.

“I think it’s just what I’ve dreamed of my whole life, to be a starting quarterback in the NFL and to enter the season as that guy,” he said. “It’s what I’ve worked for; I’ve prepared for it ever since I was a kid and all the way through college and into the pros, to get to this moment. So, it’s going to be a great opportunity.”

Glennon displayed confidence throwing over the middle and across the field throughout Thursday’s first practice. His command of the offense appeared sharper than when OTAs started, and he found a wide variety of receivers.

Coach John Fox came away impressed with the sharpness of all the quarterbacks, considering it was the first time at an official practice since mid-June minicamp.

“What I was impressed with is how focused they were. They didn’t forget everything in five weeks; they came in in good shape,” Fox said.

There is no substitute for experience in Pace’s view.

“You lean on Mike’s experience a lot and you can tell he’s been in the league for four years with different coordinators,” Pace said. “You can feel that.”

After minicamp, Glennon and Trubisky were together in Ft. Lauderdale working out with several Bears receivers in a sort of voluntary bonding/work session.

“It was good to kind of get to know those guys in a different manner,” Glennon said. “We have a lot of new guys, myself and obviously Mitch, and a handful of receivers are new as well. So it’s good for all of us to get together and build those relationships in a different setting.”

Sanchez said “there’s no chance” of a quarterback controversy.

“It’s been defined clearly,” Sanchez said. “And that’s what you need. You need it from the top and it’s already been addressed — by Ryan Pace, by Coach Fox.”

Still, it’s not unheard of for a rookie quarterback to wow coaches so much that he takes over the position early. Sanchez was a part of Dallas’ offense last year, when Dak Prescott became the starter after Tony Romo’s injury.

“As far as Dak last year, what an incredible talent, No. 1, what an incredible amount of talent around him,” Sanchez said. “He played his butt off, made really good decisions at critical moments and then guys helped him out.

“That’s important. I don’t care if you’re Drew Brees, Tom Brady or Dak Prescott, you need help. He definitely got that and then worked his butt off also and put himself in the right positions and guys helped him.”

Pace was asked about a hypothetical situation in which Trubisky has a strong camp and Glennon struggles, but he wanted nothing to do with it.

“This thing is going to have to play out,” Pace said. “But Mike Glennon is our starting quarterback and I don’t think now is the time to deal in hypotheticals going forward.”