Greg Gabriel worked in the NFL for 40 years, many of them as a scout and scouting director for the Chicago Bears. In that time, he built a lot of friendships and business connections around the league. While he may not be a professional insider, it is fair to say the guy probably gets credible information. That is why his recent post on Twitter (X) caused quite a stir. After insisting the Bears would likely keep Justin Fields, things have changed. He stated that the growing buzz now is that not only would Chicago trade the young quarterback, but they would also trade the #1 pick.
The idea is the Bears would net what they can for Fields, then get an additional package from the Washington Commanders, who are pushing hard to move up for Caleb Williams. Once that is done, they will take one of the remaining quarterbacks on their board between Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and J.J. McCarthy. It is a fascinating twist that flies against the narrative that Chicago is locked in on Williams. Perhaps it was always a carefully crafted front by GM Ryan Poles to extract the best possible compensation from Washington, who he probably knows is desperate to get him.
Gabriel appeared on The Windy City Breeze show to explain in further detail. From what he understands, the compensation would be massive.
This move by the Chicago Bears would be risky but calculated.
If you go by the media narrative, it would be tantamount to suicide if Poles passed on Williams. He is a “generational” prospect on par with Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning. However, several respected quarterback evaluators aren’t seeing the same thing. Some don’t even think he’s the best quarterback in this class. If Poles believes one of the other quarterbacks is on the same tier as Williams, then trading #1 for #2, two 2nd rounders, and a future 1st is a no-brainer. It would take guts. Plenty of Bears fans already have their hearts set on Williams.
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Still, that is why Poles gets paid the big buck. He has to make the tough decisions. His job isn’t to draft the most popular player but the best player for the Chicago Bears. He’s said from the outset he is searching for a quarterback he feels can survive in this city. He wants a leader and a winner. For all his talent, there have been questions about Williams on both of those fronts. Maybe they’re overblown. Maybe not. Whatever the case, it sounds like the narrative that he is the unquestioned choice for the Bears was a bit premature.
NOT Greg Gabrial again …
I hear you. If we could fleece Washington for what people are saying we could, it’s a no brainer and then grab Daniels. I think he will do better than fields. I think we waste a year by hanging on to fields.
@Badabing (love the moniker by the way. Big Bing fan)…. You kinda missed my point. While it’s true that Fields improved, the fact is that the Bears got some more excellent players last year, including Moore and Sweat and improvement in the offensive line. The main improvement in the record came from Sweat Plus the draft capital in the Carolina trade. My point is that the Bears have started down the right path to improve their team, and that they should stay with Fields at least one more year in order to try to replicate as much as possible what… Read more »
@Webs, Atlanta loves their mobile QBs. They want Vick back. Note that they are basically the only team that comes up in trade talks. He’s also from ATL. And before u go crediting fields with a dramatic win increase yoy make sure to check out bagents win percentage the five games he played. You all talk about loading up on draft picks. Awesome. There are roughly three teams in the last 25 years w middling QBs to go to the Superbowl (fields is not middling, he’s worse than that), and one is us w grossman. Then u have foles and… Read more »
GG’s insider is “Cliff Stein”