Fighting on Behalf of Justin Fields

During his wrapup of the season, Bears GM Ryan Poles went as close to the middle of the highway on the quarterback issue as he could go.

Even if he has a lean, it's not going to matter or be shown until they do a better assessment.

He said he has confidence in the offensive coaching staff they will put in place to win with a rookie QB, something Houston is proving can be done.

"Yeah, if this is the direction it plays out, I think there's enough support to continue to rise up and have a young quarterback," Poles said. "Obviously when you look at bringing in a staff, that development plan is going to be critical."

He also stressed a willingness to listen to trade offers.

"Again, I'm wide open for anything, so if someone wants to call me with an idea, that's fine," Poles said.

As for a timeline, he added, "It depends on what factors are in it, but in my mind right now I'm going to take this all the way to April."

There are convincing arguments on both sides.

Fields hasn't won many games but has shown enough talent to indicate winning because of his talents would be possible.

Here are the best arguments for keeping Fields and trying to find a trading partner for the first pick in the draft.

Note: Theses are arguments for keeping him, but not necessarily mine, just some being floated.

1. Tremendous Top Pick Trade Value

The Bears practically stole DJ Moore and still had position to draft starters Darnell Wright and Tyrique Stevenson because of last year's trade. They have the first pick this year because of it and a second-rounder in 2025. It's entirely possible they could go even beyond this with a windfall from trading away the first pick.

The main reason is there has been a greater consensus during the predraft process so far about Caleb Williams being the best quarterback in the draft. It turns out that as rookies, C.J. Stroud was much better than first pick Bryce Young but it's only been one season and things can change. But Williams has been pointed at since last year by scouts as the best prospect at the position to come along in years. As such, the value naturally would be higher.

Also, there is a greater combination of coaching instability in the league, combined with the need for young quarterbacks than last year. QBs are always in demand, anyway. But when you look at the draft order there are only two of the first 14 teams choosing who would not really be interested in another QB. Only the Chargers and the Cardinals would appear to be teams not interested in trading up to get the top quarterback—and it's possible the Cardinals saying they're going with Kyler Murray could have been just draft strategy more than a plan.

Even teams like the Jets and the Saints, with veteran starting QBs, would be interested in getting the top quarterback based on the age of their starter or his overall effectiveness.

So the Bears could gain extreme wealth for the future this time in terms of picks. And when Poles became GM, it was through the draft where he said he wanted to build the team.

The Bears could build a team so strong at all positions by raking in early draft picks from this trade that they could win Super Bowls whether they have an average, good or great quarterback.

2. New Coaches Impact on Fields

So far, Fields has had Matt Nagy-Bill Lazor-John DeFilippo-Mike Snyder and then Luke Getsy-Andrew Janocko as the big coaching influences. Both Nagy and Getsy had pasts dealing with some great quarterbacks. Getsy helped in developing Jordan Love for two seasons as a backup and Nagy did this with Mahomes as a backup for a year. The right stafff working with a starter can make a difference, particularly if their offensive system is bent to the strengths of a quarterback. If the Bears find someone like this for coordinator and QB coach, it's not out of the question they could develop Fields further. Fields was in bad offensive systems under so-so coaching, the argument goes, and would flourish if they can put him with good coaching in a good offensive system suited to his talents. This includes an attack that can use his running ability.

3. Fields Improved

It wasn't a huge leap forward in 2023 for Fields but improvement nonetheless. He reduced his interception rate by a large amount, from 3.5% to 2.4%, and had his lowest total fumbles (10) since he came into the league. Fields had already proven he could make big plays. What he needed to show was an ability not to turn over the ball.

Although his passer rating improved only slightly from 85.2 to 86.3, it actually would have been 89.0 if he hadn't thrown the two Hail Mary interceptions, one of which was picked up off the ground but still ruled a pick. It's still not where they need it but was improved. Just like his QB rating, his completion percentage came up from 60.4 to 61.4 as he learned more and more when to take the safter throw. His 16 TD passes was one less than last year but he played in two fewer games than in 2022 with 13 due to the thumb injury, which occurred in a game when he was coming off passer ratings of 125.3 and 132.7.

Eberflus, at season's end, lauded Fields' ability to look downfield as he moved in the pocket to find receivers better. This much was evident on a TD throw he made to DJ Moore at Detroit and several throws made against Arizona and Atlanta.

4. Needs More Receivers

The Bears have built a formidable passing connection between Fields and DJ Moore. In 2023, Moore had 96 receptions for 1,364 yards with eight TDs. Only five wide receivers in the league accounted for more yards than Moore and he feels the great connection to Fields to the extent he's been urging Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles not to trade Fields. All of Moore's TD catches this year came on Fields passes even though he played 4 1/2 games with Tyson Bagent. Even though Fields missed 4 1/2 games, 1,102 of the passing yards came in 12 1/2 games with Fields and 71 receptions came in those 12 1/2 games.

The real argument can be made that Fields did not have the necessary weapons to do more than he did. Besides Moore and Cole Kmet, no other secondary wide receivers stepped forth with great reliability. Darnell Mooney had his worst season, following a season cut short by injury when he still had a role as No. 1 receiver.

The other Bears wide receivers this year—Mooney, Chase Claypool, Collin Johnson, Equanimeous St. Brown, Trent Taylor, Tyler Scott and Velus Jones Jr.—combined to account for five fewer targets (131) than Moore had, and made 32 fewer catches combined. While Kmet's targets were way up, the second wide receiver and third wide receiver positions were not places Fields completed passes. They could stand to have help there.

Because he hasn't had proper wide receiver help, his real strength as a deep passer has barely been utilized. Given more receivers with speed, or height-speed combinations, he'll start to make dramatic strides getting the ball downfield.

5. Needs Better Pass Blocking

Fields took longer to throw (3.23 seconds) than anyone in the league and this is often blamed for the 44 sacks that were made against him.

Longer to throw doesn't necessarily mean a line must be bad at protecting the passer from sacks. Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson were among the 10 QBs slowest to throw and their teams ranked nowhere near the top for sacks given up. Kansas City and Philadelphia were among the best protecting the passer. The Bears line simply must get better at protecting Fields.

6. Hasn't Had Enough Starts

He has made 38 NFL starts but the first 10 under Nagy weren't much help and actually were a detriment.

The 28 starts in Getsy's offense constitute a season and a half. He has unseen potential yet.

7. The Lamar Jackson Argument

There are only two quarterbacks in the league with the ability to break scrambles the way Fields does. Both he and Lamar Jackson are a cut above the others. With the way Jackson has played this year, when paired with a dominant defense, it's easy to see the Ravens taking the Lombardi Trophy. The Bears believe their defense is headed in this direction and statistics over the second half of the season show it could be the case. Put this together with a quarterback capable of big plays running or passing and it's a formula for winning a Super Bowl, even if the prescribed method is to have one of the truly elite passers.

One popular theory in the NFL is that 90% of Super Bowls are won by the teams with elite quarterbacks and the rest with great defense and a strong team.

It's true. But then again, what percentage of quarterbacks in the league can be said to have had Jackson's and Fields' combination of running ability and strong arms? There haven't been enough players like this to make a dent in this parade of elite QBs to Lombard Trophies. As more come into the league as starters, there will be more who prove it's possible. Fields could be one.

8. Starting Over Takes Too Long

Matt Eberflus is in a win-or-else year and has new offensive coaches and a new offense. Adding to the disarray by bringing in a different starting quarterback is only going to make matters worse. They could need two more years before they are competitive after such a change and the coaching staff might not have that long.

9. The Locker Room

It's very apparent Fields has established himself as the well-liked leader of their locker room. Both the offense and defense speak of his efforts with reverence. It's rare in the NFL to find this kind of total devotion.

10. The Fans Love Him

How often have Chicago fans loved their quarterback to the degree they do Fields? Usually they're demanding the backup QB play or they're putting cigarettes in his mouth with Photoshop and posting those pictures on social media.

They were chanting "We Want Justin" during a 7-10 season.

Give the fans what they want when you're trying to find ways to build a new stadium and replace one that is only a little over two decades old.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven