When quarterback Mitch Trubisky — whom the Bears selected No. 2 overall in 2017 — was a rookie, then-general manager Ryan Pace wouldn’t even entertain the question of what might happen if he outplayed Pace’s chosen starter, veteran Mike Glennon, in the preseason.

‘‘[We’re] not dealing with hypotheticals,’’ Pace said in his news conference to open training camp that year. ‘‘Glennon’s here for a reason. We evaluated him over the years. We’re very confident in him. This thing is going to have to play out. But Mike Glennon is our starting quarterback, and I don’t think now is the time to deal in hypotheticals going forward.’’

Fast-forward to 2021, and then-coach Matt Nagy at least was willing to contemplate the possibility that rookie Justin Fields — the No. 11 overall pick in the draft — might outplay starter Andy Dalton and backup Nick Foles in the preseason.

‘‘That would be awesome,’’ he said.

But when he was asked whether that might change things, Nagy wasn’t about to go there.

‘‘We don’t even get into that part of it,’’ he said. ‘‘We just say, ‘Listen, go play ball, be the best you can be.’ Trust me, just like everybody in here and in our city, I want Justin to be electric. That’s what we all want. But for us, we’re worried about today.’’

On Friday, general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus didn’t have to answer those hypothetical questions about rookie quarterback Caleb Williams at their news conference to open training camp at Halas Hall. They designated Williams as the starting quarterback virtually the moment they drafted him No. 1 overall April 25. And it wasn’t a very difficult decision.

Until further notice, that already puts Poles, Eberflus, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and the Bears’ organization a step ahead of where they were the last two times the team drafted a potential franchise quarterback. No debate about which quarterback should start. No questions about the rookie getting first-team reps.

And there’s no veteran to be annoyed by having to answer more questions about the backup than about himself — and by getting treated like a place-holder when he thinks this is his big chance (Glennon) or an opportunity to reestablish himself (Dalton). And no teammates having to tiptoe around loaded questions about the rookie everybody wants to see versus the veteran nobody wants to see.

Asked about the process that led to that decision, as opposed to bringing in a veteran to compete with Williams, Poles deferred to Eberflus.

‘‘For me, it’s just believing in Caleb, putting him in there and let’s go,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘The expectation is for him to be the starter. He was the starter when we drafted him, and we put him in the position to do that. And we’re going to do a great job of supporting him to get him ready for the first game.’’

The history is clear that starting a rookie quarterback is almost always dicey. The nine quarterbacks taken No. 1 overall since 2009 who have started in Week 1 were a combined 44-87-2 in their first season.

But with a strong supporting cast that includes receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, tight end Cole Kmet and running back D’Andre Swift, plus a defense that expects to finish among the top 10 or top five in points allowed, Poles thinks he has given Williams a comfort zone that many touted rookie quarterbacks don’t get.

‘‘[The expectation is] really just to maximize his ability,’’ Poles said. ‘‘I want to see [him] just leaning on the talent around him, as well. I think it’s got to be comforting to know you don’t have to do everything on your own, which makes it a pretty good situation for a young quarterback.’’