Poles Stops Short Of Committing To Justin Fields As Bears’ Quarterback

While the Chicago Bears have been building around Justin Fields for two seasons, their quarterback received only conditional support from General Manager Ryan Poles in his state-of-the-team news conference on Tuesday.

Poles praised Fields for his growth during the Bears’ 3-14 season but stopped short of saying he won’t draft a quarterback to potentially replace him.

“We’re going to evaluate the draft class,’’ Poles told reporters at Halas Hall. “And I would say this: I’d have to be absolutely blown away to make that type of decision.”

The Bears landed the first overall pick in the draft on Sunday, when Houston scored late to beat Indianapolis. The Texans had been expected to select one of the top quarterbacks — the most rumored was Alabama Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young — with that pick but instead the Bears have flexibility to trade that pick or draft a quarterback and trade Fields.

Poles said he has discussed the situation with Fields.

“Yeah,” he said. “We had good conversations. I’m excited for the direction he’s going.”

Fields ended the season ranked seventh in the NFL with 1,143 rushing yards, missing out on a chance to break Lamar Jackson’s record for quarterbacks when a strained hip sidelined him in the final game. But the Bears had the worst passing attack in the league, with the blame spread between Fields, his inventory of receivers, a line that contributed to him being sacked 55 times and coaches’ play-calling.

Poles praised Fields’ improvement as a playmaker but stated the obvious, that “he has to get better as a passer.”

Fields completed 192 of 318 passes for 2,242 yards, an average of only 149.5 yards. Pro Football Focus grades Fields 23rd among 38 qualifying quarterbacks overall but ranks him 34th at a passer.

In addition to Young, Kentucky’s Will Levis and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud are considering to be the best available quarterbacks. He should be in good position to help evaluate him, as he was a player personnel assistant in Kansas City when the Chiefs identified Patrick Mahomes as a difference-maker.

Brett Veach, then the Chief’s player personnel director and now the general manager, followed Mahomes closely throughout his career at Texas Tech. The Chiefs traded up to select him with the 10th pick in the 2017 draft.

“I was part of the process,” Poles previously said on the NFL Network. “You know, that’s part of scouting anytime you have a good group, like no one’s gonna take even credit for one draft pick. It was part of the process. I give you know, Brett and John (Dorsey) and all those guys a lot of credit.’’

Poles inherited Fields from his predecessor Ryan Pace, who traded up to take him in the 2021 draft. Fields will be in the third season of his rookie contract in 2023, so the Bears can hedge their bets financially as it is too early to extend his contract. The most likely scenario is that Poles hangs onto him for at least another season, as the Bears have needs all over the field.

Seven teams with top-nine picks are expected to at least strongly consider upgrading at quarterback: the Texans (2), Colts (4), Seahawks (5), Lions (6), Raiders (7), Falcons (8) and Panthers (9).

Teams generally have not traded the first overall pick but it has only been two years since Miami received three first-round picks for the third overall pick, which the 49ers used to select quarterback Trey Lance.

In a mock draft done this week, PFFPFF
projects Indianapolis will make a trade with the Bears to land Young. The Bears would then take Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter with the fourth overall pick.

The Texans, Seahawks and Lions are interesting as potential trade partners, as they each have two first-round picks this year. It’s possible, however, that Poles might want to stockpile first-rounders for the 2024 draft.

That’s when USC quarterback Caleb Williams will be draft-eligible. He generates comparisons to Mahomes, and Poles should know whether to buy into them.