The Chicago Bears have potentially the most important offseason in recent memory on the horizon. Everyone wants to know, should the team select a quarterback of the future with their No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft? Or should they use their draft capital to help build around Justin Fields?
There are clear positives and negatives to both possibilities. But for the purposes of this article, here are the reasons as to why they should move on from Fields and select a quarterback with their No. 1 pick in April.
First, let’s take a look at how Fields has performed in his three years with the Bears thus far.
Overall, his play has been extremely sporadic, showing flashes of brilliance while also having some very clear shortcomings. As a passer, Fields currently leaves a lot to be desired.
Of all quarterbacks that started in at least half of their team’s games in the regular season this year, Fields ranks as the No. 29 quarterback in terms of completion percentage. That says a lot when you consider Fields’ 61.4 completion percentage this season is the best of his young career.
Fields’ selling point is clearly his ability as a dual-threat quarterback, breaking out for some massive games as a rusher this season. However, that same ability has led to Fields suffering numerous injuries throughout his career that have impacted his availability.
Fields undoubtedly has a ton of talent that can be utilized in the right situation. But the question is whether the Bears are fully committed to him as their quarterback of the future and the contract they will need to pay him to be their quarterback in the near future.
The Bears have one more season until they need to decide on Fields’ fifth-year option, followed by his upcoming free agency shortly after.
Instead, the Bears could move on from Fields and restart their clock on paying a quarterback by selecting one of Caleb Williams or Drake Maye with their No. 1 overall pick.
The general consensus amongst most draft experts is that either Williams or Maye could have very well gone at No. 1 overall if they had been in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Considering the flashes of brilliance we have seen from rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud out of last year’s draft, that certainly speaks volumes about both Maye and Williams.
One argument for passing on a quarterback at No. 1 for Chicago is that they can build for the future by trading out of the top pick for added draft capital.
However, the Bears are in a very advantageous position this coming offseason, as they are projected to have the ninth-most cap space in the NFL in 2024.
You could very feasibly build through free agency this offseason to add some much-needed veteran leadership to this team, while also bringing in a rookie quarterback with some huge upside to build on. Especially considering whoever they draft will be on a rookie deal for five years.
If you are Bears general manager Ryan Poles and you decide to pass on a quarterback at No. 1 for Fields, you better be sure that Fields is going to pan out in Chicago. If things go south with Justin Fields at quarterback next season, there’s a very real chance that Poles may not even be around to utilize the picks they may get from a trade down from the No. 1 pick.
Simply put, this offseason is far too important for the Bears to roll the dice with a quarterback like Fields with far more questions surrounding him than answers.
