The Bears Launch New QB Justin Fields Plan with First Draft Pick…
Justin Fields as a quarterback might not be done with the Chicago Bears just yet.
On Super Bowl Sunday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed that the Bears had serious internal talks about retaining Fields on the team and selecting a quarterback first overall, most likely USC’s Caleb Williams.
“Even though it seems unlikely, they have discussed the idea of carrying both quarterbacks,” Schefter stated on Sunday NFL Countdown, February 11, as reported by SleeperNFL. Keeping Fields and taking the person ranked first. Will they get around to that now? That’s difficult to imagine. However, that is a discussion that has taken place within the company.
Bears Holding QB Justin Fields and Drafting Caleb Williams Set NFL Record
Despite being, to put it mildly, unconventional, the maneuver has some NFL history.
On Sunday, Rex Ryan, the former head coach of the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets who is now an ESPN analyst, outlined the background. In the same breath, though, he offered an argument for why it might not make sense in Chicago.
In reaction to Schefter’s claim, Ryan remarked, “You know, it’s funny, the Dallas Cowboys actually did that [with] Steve Walsh and Troy Aikman, so we’ve seen it done before.” What’s odd, though, is that according to what you’re hearing outside, Williams is the most similar prospect to Patrick Mahomes that we’ve ever seen. In that case, please refrain from drawing comparisons between this guy and Bryce Young. Obtaining a Patrick Mahomes would be more valuable than six first-round selections.
Ryan’s comparison of Mahomes to the quarterback on the day he won his third Super Bowl win is intriguing. For the Kansas City Chiefs, Mahomes has been the starting quarterback. However, in his rookie campaign, he was the backup to quarterback Alex Smith, who was the fourth player on the Countdown set on Sunday.
In Mahomes’ debut season in the NFL (2017), Smith, then 33 years old, led the Chiefs in passing with over 4,000 yards, 26 touchdowns, and five interceptions. This earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl. Despite Smith’s recent success, head coach Andy Reid started Mahomes as the starting quarterback the next season.
In exchange for a third-round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller, who began 15 games for Kansas City the next season and is still a starter in the league (now back with Washington), the Chiefs traded Smith to the Washington Commanders that offseason.
The Bears have discussed the idea of drafting Caleb Williams 1st overall AND keeping QB Justin Fields, per @AdamSchefter pic.twitter.com/jmO3AsozNq
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) February 11, 2024
Keeping Justin Fields might help Caleb Williams’ learning curve and boost the Bears’ trade value.
For a few reasons, that might be a realistic route for Williams, the closest thing the NFL has seen in seven years in terms of a talent similar to Mahomes.
First off, it’s debatable if Mahomes actually required a full year to become familiar with the NFL and the Chiefs’ offensive scheme, but Reid thought he did, and the extra time on the QB’s learning curve hasn’t hindered him in the previous six seasons.
Second, the Bears will exert every effort to get a first-round selection in exchange for Fields. The consensus on the three-year starter is that his value would be a second-round pick. But even in the NFL, good starting quarterbacks don’t exactly grow on trees. Every year, a team loses a number of starters who make it unrealistic for them to challenge for a championship.
Fields is more naturally gifted than most of his NFL counterparts as a quarterback and rusher. Chicago should be able to obtain first-round value for a player of that caliber who enters his age-25 season in 2024 if they can find the proper partner.
The Bears may be using talk of holding onto Fields in the event that the proper deal doesn’t materialize as a ploy; this wouldn’t be an unusual move in the NFL.
ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi stated on Sunday, “We are entering smokescreen season by these teams, and there’s no way they keep Caleb Williams and they also have Justin Fields on the roster.” Here, something is taking place. There will be a deal executed. Fields has been relocated, or Caleb No. 1 is being taken. No manner is possible. There is smokescreen everywhere.
“No, no, no. Smokescreen isn’t what it is,” Schefter shot back. They have discussed it. I’m not revealing to you that they are. However, they have discussed it. That is a fact, not a smokescreen.
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