Fans held out hope that maybe Justin Fields might stay in Chicago. That proved to be the wrong feeling to have. After a long wait, the Chicago Bears have finally made their decision. GM Ryan Poles sent the former 1st round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a trade. He will join a roster in serious need of a backup behind Russell Wilson. Sadly, the compensation isn’t anything special. Chicago receives a 6th round pick in 2025 that becomes a 4th round pick based on how much playing time he gets this coming season.
It isn’t the end anybody wanted. Chicago didn’t get the franchise quarterback they hoped for, not to mention the return they probably would’ve in any other year. Fields didn’t realize his full potential, suffering from too much inconsistency. He gets a fresh start with a stable organization and gets to learn behind a future Hall of Famer. The Bears clear the way at quarterback for whoever they end up taking at #1 overall. Most agree Caleb Williams of USC is the heavy favorite for that honor.
Justin Fields is another cautionary tale.
Nobody disputes the former Ohio State star is a superior athlete with a terrific work ethic. The problem is it takes so much more than that to be successful at quarterback in the NFL. While he was a brilliant runner with the football, his inability to process defenses at high speed led to constant inconsistency. It didn’t help he had a bad tendency to hold the ball, leading to unnecessary sacks. That, along with his expiring rookie contract and an unusually strong crop of free agents, is what led to such a small return in the trade.
Lots of fans won’t be happy about this. All of it, from trading Justin Fields at all to the compensation received for him. That is natural. Change is rarely perfect. Yet one thing remains undeniable. The Bears are about to take another big swing at quarterback. They’ve done everything in their power to prepare for it. Poles has retooled the offensive line and flushed the roster with weapons like D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, and D’Andre Swift. They are as ready as they’ll ever be. One only hope their evaluation is accurate.
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@Dreddog —
We’ll have some interesting times coming up soon.
As crazy (silly) as things can get on Sports Mockery, it all pales when compared to “real life” in today’s USA.
Regards
@TGena Lol, what a surprise! But hey, the truth is truth. Gloating is so juvenile! But hey, I suppose if it’s good enough for politicians, everyone can hop on that bandwagon! It used to be called having class, or being classy. If one can’t express themselves respectfully, without infusing ignorance in the debate, They should probably refrain from exposing that particular trait and ending all doubt. This juvenile grade school junk is just really really sad. Hey, I like Justin Fields! If it’s someone else, I’ll still watch. But I sure as heck I’m not going to die on that… Read more »
“Cautionary tale.” Yep. Erik Lambert and everyone else can list Justin Fields attributes and “failures.” No one for three years (and that’s a long time to not notice you’re failing) HOW to repair failures and take advantage of attributes. I didn’t actually read much from Lambert about HOW. About how other teams functioned or improved. Or other “cautionary tales.” Does anyone think that players can’t or don’t improve? Or that there’s a fixed timeline when you, as a team, is screwing up crucial elements? How did Jaylen Daniels become a “good” prospect to a Heisman winner sweeping every collegiate award… Read more »
@timgjerde56 I think the gap is that great. There are legitimate concerns about each of the two guys you mentioned. Daniels is slender and his game is very much like Fields’ game was, and I don’t think they go that route for those reasons. Maye, I think Maye is slipping on a lot of boards and teams minds. He didn’t do much this past year, and was automatically slotted as the #2 guy. True, he lost his #1 receiver to the NFL the year prior, but his numbers were paltry against a weak conference. At this point with the roster… Read more »
Question: CW >>>> Daniels or CW > Daniels, Maye or anyone else? Meaning, is the gap so great you can’t take a chance on anyone else? 4 picks in the top 100 with a single slot or two slot trade-down gives you the ammo to trade back up for JPJ or Newton if your prize for desired pick at 9 isn’t there, right? This isn’t a debate as to whether CW will be good or not. It’s a debate that he’s the lock for more Super Bowls or deep playoff runs in the next ten years compared to the long… Read more »