Chicago Bears Hold All The Cards At Quarterback

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Is Justin Fields the present and future? Will Caleb Williams be ready to roll in week one? The Chicago Bears could even pass on both. They hold all the cards.

Prepare for the intense sports debate that only sibling rivalry can conjure. Seesaw Sports, where Dan Salem and Todd Salem throw down on the NFL, MLB, NBA and more. Only on BuzzChomp. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate sports.

 

The NFL Draft is just two months away. So much intrigue resides around the first round of the draft and what teams are planning on doing. You can’t predict what will happen later, though, without addressing the very first pick. The Chicago Bears hold every card at quarterback.

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What will Chicago do? The Bears have the first pick in the draft thanks to their trade last year with the Carolina Panthers, when they gave up the first pick in the 2023 draft. Will they do so again and trade their pick? Will they trade Justin Fields, or some obscure and risky third option? Let’s quickly run through Chicago’s options, then tell them what to do.

 

Chicago Bears Hold Every QB Card

 

Todd Salem: Three Realistic Options for Bears

If the Chicago Bears keep the pick this year, it is almost assuredly to draft USC quarterback Caleb Williams. If they are not planning on drafting Williams, for whatever reason, they have to trade the pick to someone who will pay extra for that opportunity. 

But the Bears simply keeping the pick and taking Williams themselves is a perfectly viable option. In fact, many think it is the most logical option, since Justin Fields is not a franchise quarterback. So we, as the Bears, can draft who we hope is the next franchise passer, and then trade Fields to a QB-desperate club for a reasonable return. Fields still has value around the league, making this course of action even more desirable for Chicago.

The other option likely banks on the belief that, even if Fields is not a franchise-raiser, he is a good enough QB to lead a talented team into the postseason. That is the only thesis statement that makes sense for Chicago to follow option number two: trading the first overall pick (again) for a bounty and building up that talent around Fields. 

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There is logic to this as well. The Bears should get an even larger return for the ’24 first pick as they got for the ’23 version because the player available at the top is better. Turning that asset pool into pieces all around the roster and letting Fields lead them could, conceivably, work.

There is a sliver of a third option. If they don’t love Williams but also don’t believe in Fields long-term, it arguably makes sense to still trade the first pick. They could trade back to another team drafting near the top and take a different QB prospect they like better. This would be a tricky needle to thread.

To me, trading the pick in either scenario is not the smartest option. Keeping the pick and taking Williams not only improves the ceiling of the quarterback position by the most, but it also resets the salary of that player. Williams will be on his rookie deal, allowing the rest of the roster to be built up for multiple years. Fields, on the other hand, is up for a new deal as soon as next season. Thanks to the current economics of the NFL, as odd as it sounds, it still makes more sense to draft and reset with Williams than stick with Fields even if you could somehow know for a fact Caleb wasn’t going to be anything more than serviceable.

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And Fields is not a zero, as we established. He can be dealt for useful pieces to help the rookie. I’m not sure what a Fields trade would net, but I can name a number of other NFL teams who are lined up to start worse options than him right now in 2024.

Where do you fall on the Bears’ big conundrum? If you absolutely love Fields, the choice is easy. I’m not sure many people fall into that camp. The tricky part comes when considering pretty much every other possibility along the spectrum.

 

 

Dan Salem: Chicago Bears In Win Now Mode

I believe Justin Fields is a good quarterback and can become very good, but there are two problems. The first is that he hasn’t been healthy for long enough to have a major impact on his team’s success. The second is that he’s due for a payday after one more season. Chicago only has one decision, because the math and money never lie. The Bears must trade Fields.

Now here is where things get very tricky. USC quarterbacks have a poor track record of NFL success over the last decade. Sam Darnold is still kicking around, but as a backup. None have been starters for the same team past their rookie deals. While this is also true of most all highly drafted quarterbacks, we are debating the first overall pick for Chicago. Last season the best QB was not taken first overall. The Bears made the right choice by trading their pick. What exactly makes Williams an exception and a worthwhile top pick?

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The best choice is also the most complicated and risky. Chicago has a pretty good team, but needs much more than a quarterback to win now. Their offense never complimented Fields’ strengths. Nothing about the Bears was particularly impressive last season, so handing the reins to a rookie means a complete rebuild and likely another lost year. Remember, Stroud’s success in Houston was an exception, not the rule. Can the Bears do the unthinkable? Can they trade Fields AND trade the first overall pick? I say yes.

Ask yourself this, are the Chicago Bears in rebuild mode? No they are not. The Bears thought they’d be a contender in 2023, so you better believe they expect to be in 2024. Trade Fields and the number one overall pick. Make sure you get a veteran bridge quarterback and a rookie QB in the process. I’m thinking picks 10-15 will get them an excellent prospect, while someone like Joe Flacco is ideal to start for one to six weeks of games. A Flacco like quarterback will at worst provide knowledge to your rookie and at best win enough games that the rookie doesn’t have to play. I’d very much like to see this happen in Chicago.

The honest truth is that Chicago will select Caleb Willaims first overall. His hype and pedigree are too high to pass on. Fields will be dealt to Pittsburgh or Tennessee or Atlanta. It’s a done deal.

 

Meet our Writers:

Dan Salem is Lead Editor, Writer, and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s a published author, as well as an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X and Instagram.

Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a fantasy football and fantasy baseball Staff Writer for RotoBaller. Follow him on X or comment below for his unfiltered opinions.

Chicago Bears Photo Credits: yardbarker.com and usatoday.com via Getty Images

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