Two camps have formed among Chicago Bears fans. With five games left, the team is 4-8. The biggest lingering question is whether Justin Fields deserves another season as the starting quarterback. His numbers over the past five games have become less erratic. Nobody can definitively say he has turned a corner, either. This is where the debate comes in. Several fans believe this is who Fields is and he’s not likely to change even if the Bears bring in a new coaching staff. It is time to start thinking about Caleb Williams or Drake Maye in the draft. Others believe the coaches are holding Fields back.
Five games remain. There is still time for the young starter to sway people in his direction. He managed a last-second rally to beat Minnesota. It wasn’t pretty, but a win is never a bad thing. Still, he needs sharper performances than 217 yards and two 4th quarter fumbles to make a strong enough case. Meanwhile, Courtney Cronin of ESPN contacted several people around the NFL to ask about the top 2024 prospects. The answers she got were telling.
In their minds, the decision is an easy one for the Bears.
ESPN contacted eight NFL scouts and executives who said Williams is the can’t-miss prospect.
“I thought from last year’s film, he would be top 10 the day he showed up,” an AFC executive said on the condition of anonymity.
A top 10 draft pick? Or top 10 quarterback when he gets to the NFL?
“The latter,” he clarified.
“A lot of the things they’re asking Fields to do, Caleb does better,” an NFC national scout said. “This guy thrives on his ability to improv, create on his own and turn a dead play into a highlight.”
Caleb Williams is a risk but one worth taking.
While there is an obvious possibility he will flame out in the NFL, the fact so many respected NFL evaluators are going to bat for him with such passion is important to note. While it’s true he’s a bit undersized and can hold the ball at times, the kid is a playmaker. He’s accounted for 120 touchdowns over the past three seasons for two of the top programs in the country. His accuracy and improvisational skills are elite. While not great in the pocket, he has capability there as well. It isn’t crazy to think he can get better there, provided the Bears find him the right coaching.
Everything hinges on what GM Ryan Poles wants to do. He’s remained a firm supporter of Fields throughout the season. However, many of the things he wanted to see from the Bears quarterback haven’t improved. He still takes unnecessary sacks, doesn’t operate well in the 4th quarter, and hasn’t drastically improved his consistency. Next year will be the last of his rookie contract. Poles needs answers on whether to think about exercising his 5th-year option, which will be over $23 million.
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It becomes easier to understand why he might prefer starting over with Caleb Williams. It gives the organization a fresh start at quarterback with four years of a cheap rookie contract to keep building the roster.
Doug Pederson, Sean Payton, Mike Tomlin. Three Head Coaches who have completely changed the trajectories of their quarterback in one year or even one week.
Pederson and Payton took over decent teams with lousy coaching. In one year they flipped Trevor Lawrence and Russell Wilson from being “terrible losers,” to functional winners.
Tomlin dumped his offense coordinator last week and Kenny Pickett threw for over 400 yds in last week’s game.
Gee, do ya think it was the quarterback?
It was well known that this was a prove it year for Fields. He hasn’t proven anything good.
Some QBs are more ready than others. Why build a good to great team with a shlt QB? New QB time. Just because Fields didn’t develop in 2.5 years, doesn’t mean an actual smart QB can’t.
Everyone is complaining about the wins and losses after 2 years of the rebuild now you are saying draft a new QB and prolong the rebuild another 4 years . Can you handle 6 seasons of 3 or 4 wins
Think about the number of players that you are going to lose over the next 3 or 4 years it will take to develope a rookie QB. Sweat will be gone in 4 years wright could be gone matter of most of the players on this roster now will be gone by the time it takes a new QB to develop
@Terry, If you traded the pick, it’s highly unlikely you’d get a shot at MHJ as the Cardinals will probably grab him at #2.