Separating from its quarterback was more complicated than expected for Chicago.
The Justin Fields era is over in Chicago. The Bears sent their former quarterback to Pittsburgh for a meager conditional sixth-round pick.
The place is made to welcome – probably – Caleb Williams, but the exercise was much more difficult than expected for general manager Ryan Poles. The market wasn't there for the former 2021 first-round draft pick.
“I really felt like it was the best fit for our organization, and the best for Justin,” Poles told NBCSportsChicago.com. “I told the combine. I wanted to do well with him. And that's what we've done. »
“By doing the research and having conversations, you have to adjust to the market. But the way other teams are built, if you look at the beginning, there are probably teams looking to draft guys. On the other hand, teams that come out of the playoffs probably have someone in place. So there were really only a few teams left to target. »
In addition to the teams well placed in the Draft and those already well equipped with quarterbacks, Chicago may also have made the mistake of waiting for Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson and a few other free veterans to find a new team.
Fatefully, this reduced the demand, and therefore the offers, for Fields.
Keep Justin Fields? Unmanageable
The possibility of keeping Fields while taking advantage of the first overall pick to draft a young quarterback? Not viable for Chicago.
“I know there was a lot of talk about keeping Justin and drafting a quarterback at the same time,” Poles said. “We had serious conversations, and I put some really good guys on my staff to dig into this. How it could happen in the locker room, what to do with a young person who needs a lot of repetitions, how to adapt the command and leadership needed for this position. We felt it was probably best to move forward, and allow a young quarterback to come in and work in that role. »
For Poles, it was therefore better to start from scratch, and build around the newcomer by allocating all the necessary resources rather than dispersing oneself.
“To train a guy from the beginning, you have to support him with all the talent you can. Then it works. It takes up so much payroll, which is good if it gets to that point. But they have to be the reason you win. Afterwards, it's harder to add talent around them. Look around the league, it happens a lot. Teams that maintain success during this time are doing something special. »
