Bears quarterback Justin Fields is still waiting for a decision on his future.
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As a practical matter, the idea of the Bears keeping Justin Fields to serve as a backup to presumptive No. 1 pick Caleb Williams makes sense.
Football is a brutal sport, and quarterbacks don’t always make it through an NFL season without getting hurt. Having a decent No. 2 on the depth chart gives a team a chance to stay competitive while the starter heals.
Although there doesn’t appear to be much of a trade market for Fields now, there might be one if another team’s starter suffers a serious injury in training camp or early in the season. The Bears might be able to get a higher draft pick (or any draft pick) thanks to someone else’s desperation.
As I said, perfectly logical.
And perfectly insane.
One near-certainty is that Williams, or whichever quarterback the Bears choose first overall in the draft, will struggle in 2024. Most rookie quarterbacks do. Bears fans probably are praying that Williams has a C.J. Stroud type of first season, but 4,108 passing yards, a 100.8 passer rating and the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award are an anomaly.
So what happens when Williams inevitably struggles? What happens after he throws back-to-back interceptions at Soldier Field, while Fields stands innocently on the sidelines in a Bears uniform? I think we know exactly what happens. The hordes of Fields fans, the ones who have been singing his praises through three years of mediocrity, will be screaming for coach Matt Eberflus to make a quarterback change. Those fans will be inundating radio talk shows, chanting Fields’ name during home games and probably writing to their congressman.
It will be ugly. Why add ugliness to an already delicate situation? Williams will have more than enough on his plate in a league that chews up and spits out quarterbacks. Adding one more challenge is counterproductive. Let me see if I have the scenario right: Bears general manager Ryan Poles works hard over several years to get the No. 1 overall pick. He bets everything on a player from USC who’s supposed to be a transcendent talent and then adds a layer of disruption that doesn’t need to be there by keeping Fields. Why do that?
Fields won’t be happy being a backup. Who is? That’s not to say he’d be a bad teammate to Williams. I have no idea what kind of temperament he’d bring to being a backup. Nobody does, including Fields, because he’s never been demoted before. But he’d have to look at Williams every single day. How could he not be bitter? That used to be me. That used to be mine.
If we agree with the notion that an experienced backup quarterback can help a rookie starter, it’s hard to see what Fields can offer Williams. If the last three years have taught us anything, it’s that Fields himself has a lot to learn, not teach, about the passing game.
Many Bears players are loyal to him. Some have publicly politicked for him to remain the starter, which presumably means they think the team should use the top draft pick on another position. You know what their opinion means? Absolutely nothing. Players don’t get a vote in personnel matters, and for good reason. Bears players in particular, with a combined record of 10-24 the past two seasons, wouldn’t deserve a ballot even if it were offered. How about you get a sniff of the playoffs and then you can talk, fellas?
They haven’t done Fields any favors. Their campaigning for him points to locker-room discord ahead. It makes no sense for Poles to expose Williams to the possibility of that. The kid will have enough to confront as a rookie without having to deal with a backup defensive end who is giving him the cold shoulder.
All of the Bears’ energy should be devoted to making Williams as good as he can be. That doesn’t mean his rookie season should be devoid of challenges, but there are necessary challenges, and then there are unnecessary challenges. Having Fields looking over Williams’ shoulder, with all the potential disruption that might entail, is unnecessary.
We’re not far removed from the commotion about whether Williams’ “camp” wanted their player in Chicago. Now that he has said he’d be fine playing here, and now that the noise has subsided, the Bears would risk angering him by keeping Fields. Is Williams a prima donna? Maybe, but there are better, less-damaging ways to find out than by keeping Fields.
NFL coaches care about one thing, victories, so Eberflus would like having a backup who can win a game or two for him. But other quarterbacks could fill in as adequately as Fields could. Remember, Tyson Bagent went 2-2 in Fields’ absence last season.
Fields is an excellent runner, and the idea of using him like the Saints have used Taysom Hill is enticing. But it’s not worth the potential trouble. None of it is.
Chicago has been waiting for a quarterback for decades. Why make this difficult?