Chicago Bears continue to deny rumors of changing quarterbacks

Despite all the denials to the contrary by the Chicago Bears, rumors about a change at quarterback continue to persist.

We are getting closer to real action happening around the NFL. The new league year and free agency begin on March 15th. While free agency is in session, the draft occurs (April 27th-29th). The Chicago Bears are considered to be major players in both areas.

The Bears have about $100 million and counting in available salary cap space. Additionally, they have eight draft picks, including the number one overall pick. They will be in the mix on a number of players and prospects.

Of course, after a 3-14 season, the Bears have a ton of holes to fill. General manager Ryan Poles did a great job of getting the team to this position. No, it is his job to get the right players on the new roster.

One of the holes that some people somehow feel is a big one is at quarterback. Justin Fields is developing his game while surrounded by bad talent and coaches who had no faith in him. Yes, his passing numbers aren’t elite, but, again, neither are the targets and protection surrounding him.

In spite of that, Fields showed some promise. He had flashes of what he could do and made some throws that not many people could make. Also, he showed how strong and fast he is when he tucks the ball and runs. He fell 64 yards short of breaking the all-time record for rushing yards in a season by a quarterback.

The Bears still have three years to see if Fields is the franchise quarterback the Chicago Bears spent its entire existence trying to find. He is about to start his third season (second as the full-time starter). Then he has the fourth season and the Bears could pick up a fifth-year option.

The Chicago Bears need to start retaining their players

Despite Fields showing some hope, there are a lot of people who are ready to toss Fields away. They want the Bears to start the rookie clock again and draft Bryce Young.

The problem is that this is the same deal that has made Chicago an irrelevant franchise. They draft players and after a few years, they give up on them and begin again. We just saw that in 2022 with Roquan Smith. They drafted him and he performed for them then they trade him and he becomes a star somewhere else.

Poles says he wants to build through the draft. In order for that to work, though, the Bears need to retain their talent. They cannot continue to train players so they can shine with other teams. At some point, they have to show more faith in the players they draft.

Justin Fields trade rumors continue to persist

That is where we are with Fields. Despite Poles and others denying the rumors, the “Trade Fields” mantra continues to grow.

Poles is at the NFL Combine this week looking at prospects. He answered questions about reports that the Bears are leaning more toward trading the pick instead of trading Fields.

"I think that’s always been the case, we’ve always leaned that way. Because Justin did some really nice things and I’m really excited about where his game is going to go. But at the same time, when you sit in our situation, No. 1 overall, you have to do your due diligence. You have to investigate everything. You have to spend time with those guys, just to make sure we’re making the right decision."

However, there are still reports from people like Jason La Canfora about trading Fields.

At that very same Senior Bowl, Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy spoke about how well Fields played and how great of a leader he was. Additionally, he said he was looking forward to working with him more in 2023.

Poles admitted to looking at some quarterbacks. Of course, with only an injured Trevor Siemian behind Fields, Poles needs to look at some of the prospects to help back him up.

People run with that statement as proof that Fields will get dealt. This is just Poles doing his due diligence and looking for additional depth.

We have to also look at a move Poles made during the 2022 season that shows how much he supports Fields. He traded the Bears’ second-round pick (#32) to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Chase Claypool. That was to try to help Fields.

If Poles wasn’t convinced about Fields why would he trade such an impactful pick before he knew who would be his quarterback in 2023? It’s because he already knows who it is and feels that Claypool is a great fit with him (time still remains to show if he is correct).

It looks as if Poles and the Chicago Bears front office won’t be able to convince people that they are fully behind Fields until the key dates pass and the quarterback is still in a Chicago Bears uniform. It will be a long two months before that happens.