Possible QB room for Chicago Bears in 2024 would be flat-out insane
ESPN's Adam Schefter recently reported that the Chicago Bears could roll with a QB room in 2024 that would surely cause some confusion. Is it actually possible for the Bears to draft Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft AND keep Justin Fields on the roster. According to Schefter, that is a conversation that has come up within the organization:
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
Ever since Chicago officially clinched the No. 1 overall pick, which originally belonged to the Carolina Panthers, debate started as to whether the Bears would stick with Justin Fields into his fourth season or reset at QB with Williams, who is likely going to be the first passer taken. The debate around Fields is interesting.
He's thrown 40 touchdowns against 30 interceptions in 40 games through three years, and has added 38 fumbles along with that. After three years in the NFL, there are still questions as to whether or not Fields is a franchise QB. And if a team has those questions, they don't have the guy. It's rare to see a QB not put it all together until his fourth season.
Every franchise QB broke out and proved their worth by year two at the latest, so I am not sure what we are waiting around for with Justin Fields. However, if there are people within the Bears' organization that do still have faith in Justin Fields but recognize how unlikely it is that he develops, I guess he could stick around.
However, would Fields want to do that? Would he accept having to likely be a QB2? Fields might want to chance it on another team and could demand a trade. In that case, this report from Schefter is obviously redundant. The right move for Chicago is to trade Fields to the highest bidder and reset at QB with Williams.
This gives them a cost-controlled passer for years. With Fields, the Bears would have to potentially make a financial commitment to him in the next year, and he has not proven to be deserving of that. I guess the idea of both Fields and Williams both being on the Bears in 2024 can happen until it doesn't.