GOOD REASON: The Chicago Bears Can Keep Justin Fields and Draft Caleb Williams for the Reasons Below.
This offseason, the Chicago Bears must make a choice. They can start fresh by moving on from Justin Fields and selecting a new quarterback with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Numerous trade rumors have already mentioned Fields, so many people think that’s the most likely outcome.
Still, they have one more audacious option to consider: keeping Fields and drafting a quarterback.
Reasons Justin Fields Can Stay with the Chicago Bears
Fields must be traded since it is widely anticipated that the Bears will choose USC Trojans star Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. When they are trying to rebuild, who wants their former quarterback to get in the way of their new one?
Instead of dealing Fields to another team, Aaron Schatz of ESPN proposed that the Bears should select Williams and retain Fields.
Fields has led the Bears to some progress toward the end of the 2023 season, so Chicago may want to let the dual-threat quarterback continue to lead the offense while Williams provides coverage.
In this manner, the Bears also have some backup plans in case Williams has any difficulties during his rookie campaign in Chicago.
The important thing to remember is that even if Fields struggles once more in 2024, the Bears still have the option to move him. Chicago will get more when they move him if he performs well and raises his worth.
Schatz explains the proposal as follows:
“The Bears may have had a 7–10 record at the end of the season, but their weighted DVOA ranking of 11th placed them higher in recent games and lower in the importance of the early season. Specifically, the Bears’ weighted defensive DVOA ranking was sixth. This might be a playoff-caliber defense, and maybe they would want to stick with what they know (Fields) rather than try something new in the hopes of increasing the likelihood of making the postseason.
Williams will be available to enter the game off the bench if Fields has trouble during his fourth season. Fields can be traded by the Bears for draft picks at the end of the season if he performs well. (This would mean they have to grant Fields’ 2025 fifth-year option; nonetheless, let’s imagine they do so as part of this audacious move.)
In the event that Fields has an unexpectedly excellent 2024, the Bears may even start him for two more seasons. If Fields goes in free agency, they will receive a compensatory choice. The Bears will eventually receive value for Fields, regardless of the decision. Having two quarterbacks on the roster would merely offer them more choices in the near run.
If the Bears select Williams, it is highly doubtful that they will keep Fields. They probably don’t want to take the chance of upsetting their new quarterback, after all.
However, there is undoubtedly some justification for Chicago to hold onto Fields and monitor its progress.
With the Chicago Bears, Justin Fields trades rumors
As previously indicated, there have been several trade speculations mentioning Justin Fields. This offseason, he has essentially been connected to every team that needs a quarterback.
The Chicago Bears are apparently willing to sell him to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Atlanta Falcons’ chances have grown recently due to his social media activity.
Although the Bears can keep him, Fields could be better off going somewhere else. After three years in Windy City, he hasn’t exactly lived up to expectations, so perhaps a change of scenery is in order.