GM Ryan Poles faces the biggest decision of his career next month. Once the regular season concludes, he must determine whether he will keep Justin Fields as the starting quarterback or if it’s time to draft somebody new. Nothing about this decision is easy, at least in the eyes of fans. Fields has played better this year as a passer, showing progress in most key categories. Still, nobody can say he’s had a legitimate breakthrough. Many of the same problems that plagued him the past two years still exist.
Teammates swear by him, insisting he’s the best quarterback for the Bears. Still, it’s Poles’ call. His opinion is the one that matters most. In a recent column, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports revealed that seven different NFL general managers were asked about the Fields situation. All of them said the same thing: move on. In the following days, six more GMs spoke to him on the subject. In the end, 11 of the 13 said to start over.
It was during the Inside Coverage podcast that Robinson revealed some additional information. One of the GMs was in a similar situation as the Bears, trying to decide if keeping Fields for a fourth year was wise. His assessment based on that experience was simple.
If you’re still not sure if a QB is the guy by Year 3? You already have your answer.
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Justin Fields can’t live off his athleticism forever.
A quarterback’s ability to run will diminish over time. That is the inevitable result of age. This is why the best quarterbacks are often pocket-oriented guys. They know how to distribute the football through the air with accuracy and precision. Like it or not, Fields can’t do that. He’s still below league average in completion percentage and isn’t topping 200 yards per game. He has also taken 126 sacks in three seasons and fumbled the ball 37 times. He is explosive and dynamic, to be sure. Unfortunately, he’s also inefficient.
What the GM said was true. It is exceedingly rare for a quarterback to struggle his first three years and somehow figure out by the fourth or fifth. Alex Smith was one. Dan Fouts was another. Others like Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield found success, but that wasn’t until several years after leaving their original teams. Almost every quarterback who ended up good in the NFL had things figured out by their third season as a starter at the latest. Justin Fields does not. People will blame the supporting cast. They will blame the coaching.
The hard truth is the good ones don’t need a perfect situation around them to be successful. That is the warning the GM is giving. The next QB may not end up being that guy, but the Bears definitely know Fields isn’t.
