Poles (right) is weighing whether to stick with Fields (left) or draft his replacement.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
INDIANAPOLIS — There’s a popular sentiment that if Bears quarterback Justin Fields gets traded, which now seems like it could happen any day, it’ll be unfair to him.
But in the sports world, it’s actually very fair. The Bears’ decision between Fields and presumptive No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams is all about merit. If they think Williams’ future is brighter, they’ll do what they would at any other roster spot.
That’s how general manager Ryan Poles sees it, too, as he listens to offers at the NFL scouting combine. While Fields could point out various hindrances he has encountered at Halas Hall, no team would turn down what it thought was an upgrade at the most important position.
“It is a part of the business,” Poles told the Sun-Times. “If we went down that path, there would be leverage on his end that would probably benefit him as well. If you go back to the beginning and how things have transpired and the talent around him, that part, I understand.
“One of the more difficult parts of having a young quarterback is having that infrastructure around him to be successful and gain confidence. It’s been a choppy start, for sure, but when it comes to this part of it, when you find yourself in a unique situation with different options, it is a part of the business of playing professional sports.”
Fields hasn’t complained publicly about his three haphazard seasons with the Bears, but he could make a long list. Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy mishandled him as a rookie. The roster was awful in his second season. Last season brought to light what a bad fit he and former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy were.
But most highly drafted rookie quarterbacks encounter rough situations. The best ones, those who ultimately make it as stars, rise above the mess and leave little doubt where they’re headed. The most recent was C.J. Stroud just last season.
The Texans went 3-13-1, losing in overtime to the Bears, the season before drafting Stroud, had no wide receivers of note and hired a first-time, defensive-minded head coach. No one predicted they’d turn it around.
But Stroud made it work and elevated them. He was an MVP contender with a 100.8 passer rating, 23 touchdown passes against five interceptions and a league-high 273.9 yards passing per game. The Texans went 10-7 and won a playoff game.
The Bears are looking for someone on that level, and if they think Williams has a better chance than Fields, that’s the call they should make.
Last season Fields ranked 27th in completion percentage (61.4), 22nd in yards passing (2,562), and 20th in touchdown passes (16) and passer rating (85.6) among 29 qualifying quarterbacks. He also cut back on interceptions and rushed for 50.5 yards per game.
With the Bears holding the top pick from the Panthers, he had to clear a high bar, but that’s how it should be. And even without that, the Bears surely would be weighing their options at quarterback if they had only the No. 9 selection.
Plenty was working against Poles when he got to Halas Hall, too, by the way. He didn’t bring any of that up, but it’s obvious.
He began his rebuild with a quarterback he didn’t draft. Pace left him a six-win roster, a salary-cap mess and depleted draft capital. He got hired in late January, and some of his competitors had head starts in assembling coaching staffs. One year in, the Bears gave him a new boss that he had to win over in team president Kevin Warren.
Is that unfair, or just how it often goes in the NFL?
It was on Fields to overcome imperfect circumstances, and he did that only in flashes. Had he been more convincing, his future with the team would be clear. More than anyone else, it was up to him. That’s fair.