Bears' free agency splash all about helping Mitchell Trubisky

They have their franchise quarterback, a new head coach, a stable of dynamic running backs and — now — a few more pieces they'd been sorely missing.

The Chicago Bears' addition of receiver Allen Robinson in free agency — for three years and $42 million, according to multiple reports — doesn’t make them an instant playoff contender but does move them in that direction. Significantly.

Throwing in tight end Trey Burton — he threw the famed "Philly Special" touchdown pass to Eagles quarterback Nick Foles in Super Bowl LII — for four years and $32 million, per NFL Network, doesn’t hurt, either.

With those new pieces and rookie coach Matt Nagy installing his offense, a major progression is now to be expected from second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. One common recipe for rebuilding NFL teams is to latch onto a young passer in the draft, then build around him. It’s what the Seattle Seahawks did with Russell Wilson. It’s what the Eagles did with Carson Wentz. It’s what the Los Angeles Rams are doing with Jared Goff.

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When quarterbacks — even first-round selections — are in the midst of rookie deals that are slated into a wage scale, it becomes easier for their teams to amass higher-priced talent into the supporting cast. That’s what the Bears seem to be doing now.

In 2017, Chicago ranked last in passing offense and no wide receiver had as many as 700 yards. The Bears wide receivers combined for 1,685 yards and four touchdowns. By comparison, Steelers star Antonio Brown collected 1,533 yards and nine TDs in 14 games.

Simply put, Chicago needed more production to be competitive. It's primarily why Trubisky flashed promise as a rookie but also posted fewer than 180 passing yards in eight of his 12 games.

The arrivals of Robinson and Burton should change that.

Robinson can operate inside or from the slot, and his 6-3, 211-pound frame allows him to be effective in the red zone. He tied for the NFL lead with 14 TD catches in 2015, when he also racked up 1,400 yards. His numbers suffered the next year as Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles struggled. Robinson missed all but one game in 2017 after suffering a torn ACL on opening day.

Burton is also a bit of a gamble. Over the past two seasons, he's caught 60 passes and scored six times but mostly took a back seat to Eagles teammate Zach Ertz. Can Burton assume the Travis Kelce role in Nagy's offense?

Nagy, who was most recently the offensive coordinator of the Chiefs, said at the NFL scouting combine that “we're going to continue to do some of the things that we did in Kansas City, but we're also going to grow.”

That likely means creative mixing of spread and zone read concepts and a lot of misdirection intended to get players out in open space. Also likely are a number of play-action and rollout passes that put Trubisky on the move and get him out of the pocket, where he is comfortable.

With Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen spearheading the ground game and a top-10 defense, Chicago may not be far away. Receiver Cameron Meredith, who had 888 receiving yards in 2016 but was lost to a preseason knee injury last year, is also returning. Oft-injured former first rounder Kevin White remains a wild card. 

But it will be up to Trubisky, the second overall pick of the 2017 draft, to limit his turnovers (he had 10 last year) and effectively distributes the balls to his new targets.  

“For him, just understanding, getting in and out of the huddle, getting up to the line of scrimmage, and then making a play, there's a lot to that process,” Nagy said of Trubisky. “So you can see the growth of him as he developed throughout the year that he's improving and getting better and better.

“For somebody like myself and the staff that comes in, that's really fun.”

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Follow Lorenzo Reyes on Twitter @LorenzoGReyes