The Chicago Bears are entering the 2023-24 with a clear goal and it's to develop their NFL Draft prospect in Caleb Williams. Unfortunately, this meant letting go of Justin Fields in the offseason. This was not always the case for the squad. Ryan Poles had a lot of plans that were supposed to be set in motion had they not pulled the trigger on the move.
Yes, the plan was not always to trade Justin Fields this offseason. Bears general manager Ryan Poles unveiled their initial idea of keeping the quarterback in their system, via The Rich Eisen Show.
“We wanted to continue to build around Justin and give him more weapons to really showcase what he has. You know we had the opportunity to get DJ Moore, Cole Kmet was continuing to ascend. So, we really wanted to see what that looked like. We got O-line help and really take the next step in evaluating because you want to be sure in that sense. So we really wanted to continue to build with Justin and see how it goes,” he said.
Ryan Poles did make do with that promise during the offseason. He got the Bears big protectors in free agency. This got them Coleman Shelton, Ryan Bates, Matt Pryor, and Jake Curhan. Not to mention, they would have given Justin Fields a new pair of weapons. They just recently acquired Keenan Allen and D'Andre Swift in addition to the great selection of playmakers that they already had. Now, it will be the projected 2024 NFL Draft first-overall pick, Caleb Williams, and Tyson Bagent who get to utilize this astounding roster.
Now, Fields will be able to learn from the veteran acumen of Russell Wilson. If the Pittsburgh Steelers do put him on the field, he gets to throw darts to George Pickens and execute play actions with Najee Harris.
Former Bears signal caller on an upward trajectory
The ideal wins may not have been there but the Bears did see some progress from Fields. This is apparently why the front office along with the coaching staff showed forms of being hesitant in dealing him to the Steelers.
“He was making progress, obviously so explosive and dynamic as a runner, and even in the passing game he was starting to make, you know, improvements. But then, that's when you kind of look into the draft. See what's there and is that better for our organization,” the Bears executive declared.
Poles does make a great point here. The former Bears quarterback was able to scout the field faster and get passes off. He managed to throw for 227 completions which was by far the best in his career. His completion percentage of 61.4% for 2,525 passing yards was also way better.
Fields threw two fewer interceptions in 2023. Defenders were only able to pick him off nine times while he threw for 16 touchdowns. All of which would have been good for the Bears. But, it would mean that they lose a possibly generational talent down the line.
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