Mitchell Trubisky was trying to take advantage of a rare off day and sleep in Saturday morning when his mother woke him up to deliver some surprising news.
Jeanne Trubisky and her husband were visiting their son over Labor Day weekend when the Bears acquired All-Pro pass rusher Khalil Mack in a blockbuster trade with the Oakland Raiders. When Jeanne initially told a sleepy Mitch, he didn't believe her.
"[She] came into my room and was like, 'You guys just got Khalil Mack,'" Trubisky said. "I said, 'Get out of here, I'm going back to sleep.' [She said],'No, I'm serious.' You can't wake me up with that kind of news because you just don't believe it. But he's here, we're ready to roll, getting ready for Week 1, and we're excited about it."
Trubisky never dreamed that the Bears would be able to land Mack, a two-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler who was named NFL defensive player of the year in 2016.
"I don't think anybody was anticipating that," Trubisky said. "I definitely wasn't. But when we got him it just seemed like, 'Wow, that's pretty cool.' Those types of players don't come along very often, so we're lucky to have him.
"Just from the couple of days he's been here, just how he carries himself and how he wants to work, how he wants to affect this game and be part of this team, it's going to be great for this team and this organization to have a guy like that."
Trubisky has been impressed with what he's seen from Mack.
"He carries himself like an Alpha," said the Bears quarterback. "He knows exactly what he's doing. He's a savvy football player, and then you add his athleticism with all the intangibles, him being a leader …
"You can tell he's about his business. He's here, he's ready to work. Not much needs to be said when you can just tell from people's actions. That's what we're trying to get to as a team; just stop talking about it and just be about it, go out there and execute and make great plays."
Trubisky doesn't agree with those who believe that Mack's arrival will put more pressure on the Bears offense.
"If anything, it takes pressure off us," Trubisky said. "I know he's a great player and he's going to help this team. But I'm not going to throw to him. He's not going to score touchdowns. That ultimately falls on us. We've got to go out there and do our jobs.
"I know he's going to make our team better, but definitely no added pressure. I think it's going to add more excitement to what this team can accomplish and what this team can do. But we know we've got to continue to come together as a family, become more tight knit and just believe in each other, and believe in this plan that we've been brewing up this whole offseason."
