Bears Manager Ryan Poles isn’t sure about Justin Fields.
Just one year ago today, Ryan Poles, the general manager of the Bears, said he would have liked to be “absolutely blown away” to pick a QB with the first overall pick. He didn’t; instead, he gave the Panthers the pick and stuck with Justin Fields.
Again, the Panthers gave the Bears the first pick in the draft. This time, Poles said, the team won’t rush to make a choice.
Fields was picked by the Bears with the 11th overall pick in 2021. At the time, Ryan Pace was general manager, and Matt Nagy was head coach.
He said, “I know there’s going to be plenty of questions about Justin,” according to a translation from the team.
“A lot of people will have questions about the draft process.” Right now, we are getting details.
Our team will do everything possible to ensure that the choice we make is the best one for our business.
“I believed Justin got better. I believe he is capable of leading this group. That being said, there is one case where I and our team need to look at anything, and that’s exactly what we’ll do. The same goes for free agency.
We’ll look at the complimentary agents, talk to my staff about them, do some reviews, and then make the best choice we can for this company to move forward.
We saw him play 13 games this season. He threw for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns, and nine picks. He also ran for 657 yards and four touchdowns. When he started, the Bears went 5-8.
A Bears coach said, “We love where Jonathan is right now.” “He has grown well.” He’s doing a good job when he has his eyes on the field and keeps the number of picks and sacks low.
That was great of him to be able to throw some hits down there, and he’ll keep getting better as we get better as a football team. Last spring, the Bears didn’t pick up C.J. Stroud.
“We’re going to do what’s best for the business,” Poles said. “I’m sure identical things will happen with the trade back, and I need to think about all of them to figure out what will help our team move forward.”
Ryan Poles, the general manager of the Chicago Bears, has a lot of questions about the team’s future at quarterback, so he plans to look into all of them.
Maybe the idea of picking a quarterback with the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft is on that list. Former first-round decision Justin Fields would still be part of the team.
“I’ve been thinking about a million different things all year, which has driven my brain crazy.” During a news meeting on Wednesday, he said, “But I’m sure that’s one of them.”
“I will stay very open about the different ways we can go. As we gather more information, some of those ways will become less open compared to the others, but I will be open about this.”
Fields has been the quarterback of the Bears for three years and has thrown for 6,674 yards, 40 touchdowns, and a completion rate of 60.3%. To add to that, he has thrown 30 picks and has a 10–28 record as a starter.
The Bears have until May to decide if they want to pick their fifth-year option in his deal. There has been a lot of talk about whether they could trade him or trade the first pick in this year’s draft and use it on a player other than a quarterback.
Since 2010, quarterbacks picked with the first overall pick, starting with Sam Bradford, have been immediately put into action. Since then, teams have selected Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Jameis Winston, Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, and Bryce Young to start in Week 1.
Only Jared Goff or Baker Mayfield started their rookie seasons as backup quarterbacks after being picked first overall, but both were ready to start by the end.