Bears 2024 3.0

[GoBlue72391]

If we can't/don't trade Fields, has anyone toyed with the idea of moving him to WR? He's big, fast, and athletic, and if he's still on the roster after we draft a QB we would be wasting one of our most dynamic players by not playing him.

[nomorezorro]

i don't know how anyone hears "the bears actually weren't even really shopping fields all that much..." reported the moment after all the most obvious suitors are off the board and thinks that it's anything other than the bears doing damage control trying to prevent fields from looking like a damaged trade asset.

poles said explicitly that they wanted to arrive at a decision on a qb as quickly as possible, and that he wanted to prevent justin from having to twist in the wind for longer than is necessary. the simplest explanation for what went down - and one that is supported by basically every single piece of reporting other than that one rapoport news hit - is that nobody made a compelling offer for fields because they preferred other options, we decided to wait for the first wave of free agency in case it created more favorable conditions for a trade, and it ended up not happening.

[ThisGuyFawkes]

If we can't/don't trade Fields, has anyone toyed with the idea of moving him to WR? He's big, fast, and athletic, and if he's still on the roster after we draft a QB we would be wasting one of our most dynamic players by not playing him.

I don't think it will happen man. Poles will try to find a new team for Fields so he can be a QB. I think he's a waste as a gadget player.

[ThisGuyFawkes]

i don't know how anyone hears "the bears actually weren't even really shopping fields all that much..." reported the moment after all the most obvious suitors are off the board and thinks that it's anything other than the bears doing damage control trying to prevent fields from looking like a damaged trade asset.

poles said explicitly that they wanted to arrive at a decision on a qb as quickly as possible, and that he wanted to prevent justin from having to twist in the wind for longer than is necessary. the simplest explanation for what went down - and one that is supported by basically every single piece of reporting other than that one rapoport news hit - is that nobody made a compelling offer for fields because they preferred other options, we decided to wait for the first wave of free agency in case it created more favorable conditions for a trade, and it ended up not happening.

Totally possible, but there's also a realm where we haven't shopped Fields yet, until Poles is 100% on Caleb. We don't have the medicals on Caleb yet. I truly think that the consensus decision is making the media determine that we'll trade Fields, and I think that will happen. But Poles is going to do his due diligence.

I predict that we'll trade Fields within 1-2 days after Caleb's visit and we'll receive a 3rd and possibly a later pick. I also wouldn't be surprised if we land a 2nd.

[Jimako10]

Maybe this was already brought up, but Jacobs got 4/48. I'd say we did just fine getting Swift for what we did, seeing what Barkley and Jacobs are getting. RB's are doing ok this offseason.

IMO, most big RB free agent deals turn out horrible in the end and have a feeling the Swift deal won't be any different.

I keep thinking about how Miles Sanders was a top 5 rusher who averaged 5 yards per carry behind Phillys elite O-Line. He got paid by Carolina, proceeded to average 3.3 yards per carry, and eventually got benched for Chuba Hubbard.

Having a great O-Line and rushing scheme is more important than the talent of the RB, which is why RB is one of the least valuable positions. Jamaal Williams scored a gazillion TDs with Det, went to NO, and turned out to be terrible. David Montgomery was fairly mid with the bears, went to Det, and had an amazing year.

I probably would have taken Zach Moss at 4-5 mil per year or just drafted another RB in the 4th or 5th round. Roschon really isn't that much worse, if at all.

[Bandit King]

Keep bustin and make him a rb run the ultimate wildcat with caleb and bustin.

Lol!

But seriously Justin will have to accept being a backup to someone!!!

[Bandit King]

If we can't/don't trade Fields, has anyone toyed with the idea of moving him to WR? He's big, fast, and athletic, and if he's still on the roster after we draft a QB we would be wasting one of our most dynamic players by not playing him.

Why WR? Can he catch the ball well? I think not!

[panthermark]

Read on Twitter

Welp, it was a long shot but even that’s gone lol

Gardner Minshew, Russell Wilson, and now Sam Darnold- Fields, in effect, wasn't able to beat out any of them on team's wish list.

That is a funny take.

Minshew, Wilson and Darnold cost those teams ZERO draft capital, and given the contacts lengths, I don't think any of them believe they are "the answer".
Heck, the Broncos are paying most of Wilson's salary.

What I find more interesting are the salaries, between Minshew, Darnold and Mayfield, I think Fields may have to re-evaluate any future salary demands he might have. Dreams of a D Jones type contract are pretty much gone.

[Charlesareed]

Read on Twitter

Welp, it was a long shot but even that’s gone lol

Gardner Minshew, Russell Wilson, and now Sam Darnold- Fields, in effect, wasn't able to beat out any of them on team's wish list.

That is an funny take.

Minshew, Wilson and Darnold cost those teams ZERO draft capital, and given the contacts lengths, I don't think any of them believe they are "the answer".
Heck, the Broncos are paying most of Wilson's salary.

What I find more interesting are the salaries, between Minshew, Darnold and Mayfield, I think Fields may have to re-evaluate any future salary demands he might have. Dreams of a D Jones type contract are pretty much gone.

Thing is all they guys are on 1 years deals meaning they will be looking for a long term qb in the future there just getting a stop gap rn which is insane only Baker n Wilson is ina good situation moving forward Justin is better then at least 7-10 qb in the league rn

[sco]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall seeing any source say that the Bears were offered a 2nd rounder for Fields. IMO, there is a big difference between a 2nd and a 3rd round pick. If the opportunity cost for buying Caleb insurance is losing a 3rd round pick, I am totally fine with that. Moreover, the odds that we are able to subsequently trade Justin for a 3rd or better doesn't go down appreciably (although it will become a 3rd round next season). I'm sure Justin is unhappy about the situation, but he strikes me as a super high character guy who is less likely to be a distraction than most guys if he needs to stick around.

[Chicago-Bull-E]

What a disappointing day 1, similar to last year. The Bears really stopped making major moves after day 1 last year as I recall. Hopefully that isn't the case.

They had the 4th most cap space, and I don't think they were top 20 of spending yesterday.

Getting one of Ridley or Hunter today would quickly make this free agency a solid one IMO.

[panthermark]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39714221/sources-aaron-jones-join-vikings-packers-release

Jones to the Vikes.

[IliketheBullsNBearstoo]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39714221/sources-aaron-jones-join-vikings-packers-release

Jones to the Vikes.

Damn. Well good thing they don't have a good QB.

[biggestbullsfan]

The main takeaway from this free agency is Kevin Warren came in and said it was too many leaks in the building and he would plug them up. Ever since then, no one has been accurate on what the Bears moves will be. Swift wasn’t mentioned on anyone’s radar until he signed.

We shouldn’t listen to anything the pundits say as accurate. It’s entertaining but in reality, the Bears haven’t shared their hand at all.

[biggestbullsfan]

Read on Twitter

Given all the injuries last year, could you imagine what we could’ve gotten for Justin then? This is probably our most likely scenario unless someone trades for him during the draft.

[MissileMike]

Read on Twitter

Given all the injuries last year, could you imagine what we could’ve gotten for Justin then? This is probably our most likely scenario unless someone trades for him during the draft.

If you want to make sure you're 100% guaranteed to make the right call on this, I can give you the formula in 2 steps:
1. Ask Kyle Long what to do.
2. Do the exact opposite.

[jnrjr79]

It does the Bears no good to wait to trade the pick. Teams will actually get taken off the board, therefore strengthening the position of teams already interested in trading up. Atlanta is off the board. Giants could be off the board.

Washington isn’t going to get more desperate the closer to the draft. They’re at 2 and can take a QB at 2, and that isn’t going to change from now until draft night. But they have 1 less team to compete against in Atlanta.

The report is silly, the timing of the report makes it extremely silly, and it’s a FO trying to save face.

All really well said. And the attempt at saving face is more for fields than for the FO itself.

It’s utterly ridiculous if you think about it. They haven’t engaged in the trade process? That means the Bears are sitting idly by twiddling their thumbs doing nothing while the rest of NFL does quarterback business and gains advantage over the Bears FO while the Bears make up their minds. They’ve got to be doing something. Either way. Trading the pick, or trading Fields. There’s no sitting around jerking each other off in Lake Forest without a direction that’s been chosen already.

IMO, if it's accurate that the Bears haven't been having a lot of Fields trade talks, it's likely just because there is/was no market for him until free agency shook out. I'm sure the Bears checked in weeks ago with the QB-needy teams, but may well have been told to hold off until Cousins, Wilson, etc. signed.

[jnrjr79]

Man, some of ya'll seem ticked that Fields hasn't been traded yet.

If Poles does not want to trade Fields prior to getting a medical and interview from Williams, BLAME WILLIAMS.
If other teams don't want to trade (much) for the #1 pick prior to getting a medical from Williams, BLAME WILLIAMS.

We might just have to wait until after CW's pro day, which is kinda goofy because he stated at the combine he doesn't NEED to throw because there is plenty of film on him already. Not sure what the point of his pro day is actually.

The thing I disagree with here is that people are continually framing the Bears' decision as Fields vs. Williams when in reality it's Fields vs. any other QB available in the draft. All the Bears need to determine is that they'll draft someone rather than stick with Fields. Perhaps they won't make that determination until they meet with these guys, but I assume right now they actually know they're moving on from Justin and just haven't yet had a good offer for him.

[HearshotKDS]

The WR2 market still stocked, wonder if we will see a run on them today or if league checkbooks need a day of rest. Edge market at this point is thinning fast, if Bears strike out on Hunter they have to settle for one of Young/Clowney/Uche which is yuck to me. Almost all of the cheap rotational DTs are signed I dont know who the Bears are going to grab given they only have 3 DTs on the roster and you need a minimum of 4 to have an NFL rotation - maybe they draft someone on day 3 or go bargain hunting with cut guys (not terrible for your 4th DT). You have to look at the offseason as a whole between FA/draft/trades but Poles needs to sign an Edge and a WR before going into the draft, and god I hope that edge isnt Chase Young.

[biggestbullsfan]

People that complain about Poles trading for certain guys, look at Gabe Davis. We had the same offer the Jags did but he wanted to be in Florida so he went with that deal. Free agency is a dance. It takes two.