PHOENIX — Ryan Poles expected Justin Fields to be more excited. Or at least to respond.
The Bears general manager texted his quarterback earlier this month upon deciding to trade the No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers for two first-round draft picks, two second-rounders and standout receiver DJ Moore. It was, Poles hopes, a franchise-changing haul, and by far the best offer he got from four different teams when he shopped the pick.
When the GM texted Fields the news, though, the quarterback didn’t write back right away.
“I said, ‘Are you sleeping?’” Poles said. “And then he actually was. He took a nap. He woke up and he was pumped up. He got to connect with DJ, and he’s fired up.”
So is Poles, who said in January he wouldn’t move Fields unless he was “absolutely blown away” by a college quarterback. Speaking under a palm tree Monday at the NFL’s annual meeting, Poles explained why he chose his own quarterback over drafting one.
“I really needed something to take me so far above Justin where we didn’t want to look behind the curtain and see how this was going to play out,” he said. “I feel really good about Justin; still do. I think these quarterback prospects are going to have good careers, too.”
Keeping Fields was always, by far, the most likely outcome. But Poles said he owed it to the franchise to scout college quarterbacks — he couldn’t “completely shut the door” at the start of the process — before ruling out drafting one first overall. He communicated with Fields throughout the offseason about his plans, which is why he wound up texting him about Moore.
“I think having [Fields] in the building and seeing the progress he made in this first year, getting familiar with our system — obviously there’s special and athletic traits,” he said “We’ve seen in college his ability to use his arm too. I believe when all that comes together, we can have something special.”
The Bears weren’t blown away by the quarterback crop. Poles said the NFL Scouting Combine was the “last step” that sealed his decision to trade the pick. His staff had watched game film leading up to the combine that they felt didn’t compare to Fields.
“It always starts with the tape,” he said.
Once Poles started shopping the No. 1 pick, he said that four teams presented him with offers. Others had clearly done their homework, too.
“Then there were a bunch where they were still thinking about it or still evaluating and it was, ‘Not for us right now,’” he said. “But I could tell they had done enough work where they were comfortable sitting it out for what we were asking.”
Poles was enticed to make the trade before the start of free agency if it meant landing a veteran wide receiver. Moore was much better than what Poles could have acquired on the free agent market, even with the league’s most salary cap space. Perhaps no free-agent position group was worse this offseason.
Poles played teams against each other, but not overtly. He didn’t return to each team daring them to beat someone else’s price.
“I’ve had that happen to me in negotiating settings with agents, so I really don’t do that — specifically shop deals around,” he said. “I just I don’t like that. But if I have something better, I have something better. And we can keep talking.”
The Panthers were “motivated — highly motivated,” Poles said. They had a deal.
“The fact that there was a young receiver who had consistent production who had been healthy and was a great person as well to add into the mix really kind of took it over the top for me,” he said. “Where we can improve the roster now, improve our quarterback, but also set us up for the future. Right now, we don’t talk about it that much, but I guarantee at this point next year, having those two 1s, we’re going to be excited about it.”
Between now and then, he’s excited about the weapons he’s given Fields at receiver: Moore, Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool.
“It’s just another playmaker on the field,” he said. “The one thing I really like is, we have three different types of receivers. We’ve got a guy [in Claypool] who’s a big-body guy that can play inside/outside. We have Mooney who can separate and run vertically and make plays. Then DJ is just a strong physical guy who can separate and make plays after the catch too. I like how everything’s set up. And then you throw [tight end] Cole [Kmet] in the mix, too.
“He has weapons.”
