Chicago Bears: Poles Showing A Lot Of Trust In Fields

At the start of the offseason, there was speculation that Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles could part ways with quarterback Justin Fields. Instead, he doubled down on the young player and gave him the tools to succeed.

This has been the eventful offseason that most Chicago Bears expected. General manager Ryan Poles was busy overhauling a roster that only managed three wins in 2022.

One of the biggest questions early on was the fate of quarterback Justin Fields. As a result of their 3-14 record, the Bears had the top overall pick in the draft. Many experts speculated that with all of the new free agent and draft additions, it was best that Poles restart the quarterback position with a new rookie deal.

A rookie quarterback would give the Bears four or five seasons to rebuild the roster and have a young quarterback develop with new faces. The thought is that by Year 4 the team would already be a contender. Then the new quarterback would receive a new, richer contract.

If Poles stuck with Fields, then he’d only have two seasons to pick up a rich option and one more to decide to give him a second deal. With the Bears having no real weapons or protection for Fields in his first two seasons, the team still isn’t sure what it has in Fields.

Poles showed how he really feels about Fields

Poles showed exactly how he felt about Fields. Instead of keeping the top pick he traded it and received a treasure trove of picks. He traded first-round spots with the Carolina Panthers and received a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick.

Those picks will go a long way to helping hasten the rebuild.

That was not all, however. In the deal, Poles also demanded that wide receiver D.J. Moore be included. The Panthers were hesitant but they really wanted the number one pick so they agreed.

Poles looked at the free agent wide receiver market and decided that there weren’t viable options. He felt that picking up Moore would be better than any other option. Also, armed with about $100 million in salary cap space, he had the room to add Moore’s big contract ($52.265 million over the next three seasons). Now Fields has a true number one receiver to target.

Poles was not done, though. In free agency, he acquired another target for Fields, tight end Robert Tonyan. Additionally, he got Fields some protection with the acquisition of guard Nate Davis.

Poles also strengthened the running backs unit by adding D’Onta Foreman and Travis Homer. While the Chicago Bears had the number one rushing attack in the NFL, it was mainly due to Fields’ running. With the additions, now he doesn’t have to run as much. His runs will be more impactful and he will take fewer hits as well.

In the draft, Poles gave Fields even more help. He used the newly acquired ninth pick on tackle Darnell Wright. Now Fields is looking at a much stronger offensive line giving him better protection.

Poles also picked up underrated running back Roschon Johnson and speedy receiver Tyler Scott. Johnson adds toughness and elusiveness while Scott is a big-play receiver. His touchdowns averaged 44.6 yards in college.

Poles went out and proved with his actions that Fields is his guy. Despite not drafting him, Poles has confidence that Fields can turn the Bears into a championship-caliber team. He even said it as well.

We took the time to evaluate the quarterbacks because, like I said in the press conference [at the NFL Scouting Combine], I wanted to be blown away because I do believe in Justin Fields and I do believe he can take the next step to get this organization to a championship-caliber team.

Poles explained that he did look at some of the top quarterbacks but he felt he needed to be blown away by the talent. He feels that Fields is the guy to lead the franchise to the promised land.

Poles is all in with Fields. He even looped him in on the team’s draft plans, wanting Fields to be involved in the process. He feels that fosters a better relationship between the two.

While Poles still has more to do to overhaul the roster, he did plenty to help Fields develop in his third season. Now, with the new weapons and protection, Fields needs to show that he deserves all of the belief Poles has in him.