How long has the writing been on the walls that the Bears were going to trade Justin Fields as they have owned the number one draft pick in April? Ryan Poles, the General Manager of the Bears, was playing a hot hand of poker as we saw teams in need of a quarterback get their guy elsewhere in the first week of free agency. Some thoughts were the Bears were going to roll with Fields next year. What would they do with the number one pick if they went that route? Poles kept everyone including his own self guessing. The Pittsburgh Steelers were just waiting for their moment. Like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse. Nobody suspected the Steelers since they signed Russell Wilson. Then they traded Kenny Pickett to the Eagles. Mason Rudolf signed with the Titans. Poles’ bluff back fired as he had to fold and took the deal with the Steelers because the options pretty much dried up. The Steelers get Fields. The Bears net a 6th round draft pick. Which equals a dented can of beans for a former number 1 pick.

Justin Fields was drafted in 2021 in the first round 11th overall in the NFL draft. He has played 3 seasons with the Bears as he came out of Ohio State University where he did big things on the football field for the Buckeyes. Last year behind center, he went with a 5-8 record as the starter. He completed 61.4% of his passes for 2,562 passing yards with 16 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions. Fields was thrown to the wolves of the league coming in and has improved each year since he was drafted. The Bears were unprepared drafting a quarterback of any talent like Fields or anyone else. The offensive line was a turnstile at a whorehouse. Fields did not have the play makers like he had last season. Definitely not this up coming season with all the talent the team has put on the offensive side of the ball. In three seasons with the Bears, Fields is 10-28 as a starter. He has completed 60.3% of his passes in those 3 seasons for 6,674 passing yards with 40 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions. Fields is a duel threat quarterback who runs better than he passes. In 2022, he made ankles turn as he ran for over 1,000 yards on the ground with 8 rushing touchdowns. Some of the runs were Forest Gump-like going long distance with huge chunks of yardage. In 3 seasons he ran for 2,220 yards with 14 rushing touchdowns.

In Chicago, some fans think of Justin Fields as the best quarterback they have ever seen. Chicago is the same town that still has Bears fans admiring Jay Cutler, who has a cult following to this day. In retrospect, Fields may be one of the best quarterbacks depending on your age. Lots of bad quarterbacks have come in and out of the windy city. The league viewed Fields as a back up quarterback which is why it was slim pickings in the return for a guy picked in the first round. Fields throws a nice deep ball. Throwing over the middle of the field hitting guys in stride was a big weakness for Fields. Some short patterns and not having the right touch on the passes would grow frustrating. He held on to the ball way too long and took too many sacks. He was a turnover machine in the 4th quarter. If the game was close in the last two minutes in crunch time, to win the game or at least tie it to send it to over time. He would fold like a patio chair. I think he still has those problems even surrounded by the A team. I blame the Bears as usual. How many offensive coordinators did Fields have in three seasons? Being unprepared from day one. If you don’t have the cast to protect the rookie quarterback, let him sit and learn until you have the horses.

In the future, Ryan Poles should not deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Let’s start with bringing up the Chase Claypool trade between the Bears and Steelers. The Steelers land a nice future talented Joey Porter Jr. The Bears are stuck with a dog. A lazy dog where we did not get the return on what we gave up to get rid of that bum. The Steelers trade Kenny Pickett to the Eagles with a 2024 4th round pick and get back a 2024 3rd round pick with 2 2025 7th round picks. If Justin Fields plays 51% of the offensive snaps this season in Pittsburgh, that 6th rounder will turn into a 4th rounder in 2025. The Steelers signed Russell Wilson for the league minimum because they knew the Broncos were still on the hook this season paying his over 30 million. Fields will ride the bench this season while Wilson has been promised the starting gig. The Bears said they had another team offering more for Fields, but they thought Pittsburgh was better for Justin Fields to do right by him. I don’t think I’m buying what they are selling on that fable. I think timing is everything. Ryan Poles did not play his hand right. The Steelers potentially still can have control over Fields for the next 4 seasons which would include putting the franchise tag him on him twice. They could win with Wilson this season and use him as the bridge gap for Fields to take over in 2025. Wilson is signed for only one season. Poles did not draft Fields. Now his baby is coming as Chicago is preparing to welcome the USC quarterback Caleb Williams. Can the Bears say third time’s the charm bringing in Williams as we saw Mitch Trubisky in 2017 & then 2021 with Fields drafted in the first round? That is not true because the list of bad quarterbacks the Bears have had is never ending. The question that should be asked: Is Williams the next Bears quarterback to die? My gut feeling is one of the other guys in this draft will be the better option. It’s the Chicago way behind center since the 1940’s. Just hope Williams is above a can of dented beans.