The Chicago Bears have an important decision to make at quarterback this offseason — stick with Justin Fields, who’s made noticeable improvements or draft Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick (which Chicago is close to locking down, via the Carolina Panthers) in the 2024 NFL draft.
According to a Yahoo! Sports article, seven NFL general managers were unanimous in their belief that the Bears should trade Fields and draft Williams. And it’s not even a difficult decision for them.
Here’s what three of them had to say:
“It would be a clear-cut decision to draft Caleb for me,” an AFC general manager said. “The fact that we’re in Year 3 and [they] don’t want to exercise the fifth-year option tells me what I need to know. I just don’t think Fields can win consistently as a passer, even though he is gifted physically.”
“[Caleb Williams] worries me, but he is definitely talented,” an NFC general manager said. “It just buys you more time and a much cheaper contract to keep adding pieces to build the team.”
“When you pass on talented quarterbacks to lean into a guy’s development, which the Bears did when they traded No. 1 last year, you have to be completely sure of that decision to do it a second time,” another AFC general manager said. “They might not have taken C.J. Stroud with the first pick last [offseason], but he was there for them to do it. Caleb Williams is a no-brainer, and if they get the top pick, he’s there for them. Sometimes the gamble is continuing to pass on players. Fields doesn’t get over the hump, you don’t want to be the guys that passed on both Stroud and Caleb Williams.”
There’s plenty of reasoning behind their belief that the Bears should move on from Fields, including most notably that general manager Ryan Poles hasn’t even drafted his own quarterback yet.
“Nobody wants to be judged or fired because they didn’t make the previous guy’s draft picks work,” an NFC GM said. “Especially quarterback and head coach — if it’s not working out or it’s lagging, you should get an opportunity at changing it your way. Quarterbacks and head coaches are so much of your culture, so it’s kind of hard when you didn’t put those pieces in place and you’re taking the hits anyway.”
With that in mind, it’s important to note that none of these polled GMs know what Poles is going to do; it’s all speculation at this point, as this part of the Yahoo! Sports piece pointed out.
Poles could be thrilled with the strides Fields has made with DJ Moore and other weapons, seeing Fields’ fifth-year option as viable just based on this season’s progress. Poles could also feel the temptation to again deal a No. 1 overall pick for more assets (as he did last year) that will continue to stack talent all over the depth chart, rather than concentrate it in one player at the quarterback spot.
Following the NFL trade deadline, Poles told reporters that he would have to be “blown away” by a quarterback in this draft class to move on from Fields. And there’s certainly a good chance that Williams — or even Drake Maye — do just that.
It’s something to consider just one month out from the start of an important offseason for the Bears.
