Bears GM Ryan Pace can’t see clearly when it comes to QB Mitch Trubisky

The Bears’ biggest issue also is a matter of the heart for general manager Ryan Pace.

Is he capable of making an honest, dispassionate assessment of quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s flaws? Or will Pace see what he wants to see?

“A strength of mine is to remove emotions and remove those feelings,” Pace said. “It’s always just what’s best for our franchise. Matt [Nagy] and I both operate with no egos and a lot of humility, and every discussion we have is what’s best for our team. I understand what you’re saying, but that never factors into my decision-making.”

That answer was on-script but hardly believable.

During the same half-hour, he basically divulged that he doesn’t have clear eyes when it comes to Trubisky.

Pace needs Trubisky to succeed. That’s why he ruled out bringing in a starting-caliber quarterback and holding an open competition. He’ll check out second- and third-stringers, but “Mitch is our starter.”

No objective observer would endorse that plan based on Trubisky’s three seasons. His most recent work included finishing last in yards per pass.

The players Pace bypassed in 2017 to draft Trubisky have an insurmountable lead. It can be declared without hesitation that Trubisky will never catch reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson. They were instant hits, just like 2018 first-rounder and current MVP favorite Lamar Jackson.

“I think it’s just understanding that they’re all different,” Pace said.

That is the nicest possible way to put it.

These aren’t equally talented players developing at different speeds. The longer the Bears deny it, the more they delay the inevitable.

Nagy seemed to be more levelheaded about Trubisky. Remember that he came aboard a year after that fateful pick. In fact, he was on the Chiefs’ staff that drafted

Mahomes. He mentioned that Trubisky has significant work to do when it comes to reading coverages.

Pace’s overall reaction to the barrage of Trubisky questions indicated that he’d make the same choice if he had a do-over. After watching 41 starts, Pace maintained that a determination on what Trubisky might become is “still wide open.”

The one instance in which Pace evinced a grasp of reality came when he was pressed about activating Trubisky’s 2021 option, a $20-plus million decision he must make by March. He said he hasn’t gotten to that yet.

While it doesn’t serve Pace to admit he botched that pick, an error that will define his career unless he wins a Super Bowl, he showed conviction. He’s delusional, not disingenuous.

“What I like about Ryan — he has never wavered,” Bears president Ted Phillips said. “You can’t be 100 percent right all the time, but you’ve got to go with a mindset of ‘no regrets,’ and that’s what they do. I think so far it has served us well.”

How well has it served them given that Pace is 34-46 as general manager and neither Watson nor Mahomes wears a Bears jersey?

“We try not to get into that comparison game,” Phillips said. “We believe in Mitch. Patrick Mahomes is an anomaly. I mean, nobody expected that kind of performance, right?”

First objection: Not only did the Chiefs expect something like that, as any team does when choosing a quarterback that high, they were so concerned that another general manager might see it that they traded up to get him.

Second objection: What about Watson?

Third objection: General managers are always judged on whether they get it right on first-round picks.

This is when regret is prudent and wavering would be wise for Pace. Stubbornly sticking with Trubisky only sets the Bears back and wastes the window of an elite defense.

But Pace can’t see what everyone else can.