Justin Fields had plenty of outspoken supporters when the 2023 season ended, and the rumors began about a possible change at quarterback. D.J. Moore was the most active on that front, but Jaylon Johnson was close behind. The All-Pro cornerback felt Fields was starting to show signs of maturity as a passer. He’d already established himself as a locker room leader. The Bears had gone 5-4 down the stretch last season. Johnson felt the quarterback had done enough to justify another year.
GM Ryan Poles disagreed. He felt the lack of significant progress as a passer, combined with his expiring rookie contract, made it impossible for the Bears to justify passing on a quarterback at #1 overall for the second year in a row. As a result, they shipped him to Pittsburgh for a conditional 6th round pick and selected Caleb Williams in April. While Johnson is already becoming a big fan of the rookie, he made it clear on The Rich Eisen Show that Fields never really got a fair chance in Chicago.
Jaylon Johnson raises a fair point.
The harsh reality is Fields arrived at the absolute worst possible time. Already, the Bears were in a downward spiral under Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy. The roster was aging, and both men were in the hot seat. Worse still, their plan to develop Fields was ill-conceived, to say the least. They planned to sit him during his rookie season, hoping to use that time to help him adjust to the speed and complexity of the NFL level. Instead, he seemed to resent veterans Andy Dalton and Nick Foles playing ahead of him. Nagy made matters worse by abandoning the plan and throwing him into the starting lineup after Dalton got hurt.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
It didn’t work. Fields struggled and the team went 6-11. Nagy and Pace were fired. Poles and Eberflus replaced them. After evaluating the organization, both agreed a complete roster reset was necessary. That meant every notable veteran was either traded or released if their contracts allowed it. Fields had a completely gutted roster around him, and it showed in 2022. Last year, there were improvements, but not enough to swing the pendulum in time. Jaylon Johnson recognized that. Maybe if Fields had arrived even one year later, things might’ve been different.
We will never know.
Wish we would have kept Fields, and watched the show. Either way, we would have a good backup. Now, if Williams gets dinged, we’re done, we have nothin’.
First off, you need to have a little self awareness your team just spent big to bring you in. Then, don’t BMOC the 2 vet QBs that are trying to help you, especially when one is a SB winner. It’s all Pace’s fault for drafting the guy without properly vetting him. Ownership has been complacent for 20+ years. You could make the same argument for the Sex Cannon, but that was on him, too. He should have gone in the 3rd round, and then come in with a chip on his shoulder. Kordell Stewart was a gimmick WR and should… Read more »
The roster, the coaching AND Fields were all subpar. Fields missed wide open receivers routinely and he made even the most basic of plays look incredibly difficult. He def walked into a rough situation when he was drafted, no doubt. But in year 3 he was making the same mistakes he made as a rookie. I wish him the absolute best, but I’m also very happy we moved on.
I really wish JJ would write that up as a guest column here, so that you all could downvote him into oblivion too.
We care about this; why?