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Bears had ‘deep conversations’ about keeping Justin Fields, drafting QB at No. 1 originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
ORLANDO — Bears general manager Ryan Poles meant it when he said he and his staff would look under every rock to find the answer the franchise needs at quarterback.
The Bears wound up trading quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick, clearing the way for USC star Caleb Williams to be the likely selection with the No. 1 overall pick.
But before the Bears made the expected decision to trade Fields and start over under center, Poles and his staff discussed bringing Fields back and drafting a rookie at No. 1 overall. In the end, the Bears decided it was best for all parties if they didn’t cross that bridge.
“I know there was a lot of talk about having Justin there and drafting a quarterback as well,” Poles said Monday at the annual NFL league meetings. “We had a lot of deep conversations and I got some really good guys on my staff to really dig into how that would play out in terms of the locker room, how would that play out with a young guy that needs a lot of reps, how would that play out with just the command and leadership that you need in that position and we felt like it was best to probably move on and allow a young quarterback to come in and work into that role.”
The decision to trade Fields was hard for Poles. He and head coach Matt Eberflus called the 25-year-old to inform him of the trade and thank him for his contributions to the franchise.
As Poles and the Bears evaluated what Fields had done, what he still must improve on, and the overall state of their rebuild, it was clear that moving on from him and resetting the quarterback contract clock was the right move for the franchise.
“There’s a lot to unpack there,” Poles said when asked why it didn’t work with Fields. “If you go through the whole deal, at the very beginning, I think there was a choppy start his rookie year. When I…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-had-deep-conversations-keeping-172235570.html
Author : NBC Sports Chicago
Publish date : 2024-03-25 17:22:35
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