Broncos LT Garett Bolles on Bears QB Mitch Trubisky: ‘I call him my brother’

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — They had the same agents, so they started off as workout partners. Broncos starting left tackle Garett Bolles and Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky shared a green room at the 2017 draft and got to know each other’s families. Soon they were texting each other during the season and breaking down each other’s film. They worked out this offseason in Newport Beach, California.

Bolles loves Trubisky’s parents. Trubisky texts Bolles and his wife, and plays with their 1-year-old son, Kingston. They’re golf buddies, too — Bolles drives the ball longer, but Trubisky’s a better putter.

Bolles has one word to describe their friendship.

“When people ask, what is Mitch to you, I call him my brother,” Bolles said Thursday after the Broncos hosted the Bears in their second of two joint practices. “That’s just how he is. He knows that. I love him. He’s a great dude. I’m grateful for him, his friendship.”

They come from different backgrounds. Bolles overcame a troubled childhood in Utah, completed a Mormon mission and attended the University of Utah. Trubisky, who is from Ohio, went to North Carolina.

Both were selected in the first round of last year’s draft — Trubisky second, Bolles 20th. On Thursday, the two players lingered on the field at the UC Health Training Center, chatting long after practice ended.

“It’s great to have friends around the league,” Trubisky said. “To see our childhood dreams come to life at the same time, and now playing in the NFL, just living our dreams, it’s awesome.”

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When Bolles hurt his ankle last year, Trubisky was the first person to text him, Bolles said. The two watch film of each other — “We work together as one,” Bolles said — and kept an eye on each other during the teams’ two joint practices.

“He has a great personality,” Bolles said. “He’s a great man for [the Bears] organization. He’s going to do big things in this league.”

He handled the ups and downs of his rookie year well, Bolles said.

“Playing quarterback in this league is rough,” Bolles said. “Coming in [five games into] the season, not knowing at first if he’s a starter. He’s a fighter. He proved to that organization that he can win, that’s he’s a starting quarterback.

“You never see him down. He’s always smiling, he’s always talking, he’s always congratulating his teammates or cheering his team up. He genuinely loves people. He’ll do whatever it takes to make his team happy and one day get a ring on his finger. That’s what you want in a quarterback.”

Trubisky said his friendship with Bolles will continue after football.

“The relationships you build in football — across the league and in our own locker room, as well — are very special,” Trubisky said. “Great relationships — you can’t say enough about it.”