We are only a little over a month away from the one-year anniversary of the Chicago Bears trading the first-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers for a haul including DJ Moore. A trade that looks like a genius move by Ryan Poles as the Panthers finished with the worst record in football in 2023 and will give the Bears the first-overall pick once again in 2024.
This scenario has now split most of the Chicago Bears' social media into 3 groups. One group includes the fans who want Justin Fields to stay as QB1. Another group wants Caleb Williams badly. The last group just trusts Ryan Poles and will support whatever decision he makes.
I fall into the last group, while also siding slightly more on the keep Justin Fields part of the QB debate. That said, it would be interesting to see which teams would be interested in acquiring Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears. Everyone has labeled the Atlanta Falcons the top destination spot and even Mel Kiper has said he thinks Justin Fields could net a first-round pick. He himself said Fields for the eighth-overall pick. I don't believe that for a second, but since Kiper keeps yapping about it, let's use it as a hypothetical once again.
We are seeing Luke Getsy make his rounds throughout the NFL as multiple teams are interviewing him for open offensive coordinator positions. I touched on the Raiders interviewing him and couldn't help but think it was a fact-finding mission to gain more insight on Justin Fields. The Raiders also seem like a good bet as a trade option for Fields should Ryan Poles make him available since the Raiders need a quarterback but are sitting at 13. Just as I don't think Atlanta will give up the 8 for Fields, I don't think the Raiders give up the 13 either.
Now, Getsy is meeting with New England and even the Saints for a second time. The Saints might actually be interested in Getsy -- no idea why. However, the Patriots also seem like a potential trade target. Bill Belichick is out in New England and Jerod Mayo is getting his first attempt at a head coaching gig. Could he be interested in Fields moving Mac Jones to the bench? Maybe, a deal could be had here.
I will continue to preface this with I am not confident in Mel Kiper's opinion that Justin FIelds should see a first-round pick in return. At most, I think Fields nets two seconds or a second and a third. However, should Fields be worth a first-round pick to someone, I would love to think that New England could actually be in play here. As I mentioned, is that the real reason they brought him in for an interview?
The Chicago Bears could make many fans very happy
Could the Patriots, who sit at 3, see Justin Fields as a better option at quarterback than the prospects who sit behind Caleb Williams and Drake Maye? Chicago holds the 1.01 and many believe they will move on from Fields and take a quarterback. Washington is also heavily rumored to be in on one of the top quarterbacks despite Sam Howell showing flashes. If those two QBs go, New England would be left with Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix, Jr., and Bo Nix as arguably the next-best options. Again, maybe they see Fields as the better option though.
Don't forget that Penix and Nix are older prospects. Both will be 24 very soon. Fields will be 25 before the start of the new year. Daniels will be the youngest at 23. Fields already has 3 years of experience in the NFL though. It's possible that New England looks to land him by making this trade (again going off the Kiper insight).
New England Patriots Receive:
Justin Fields
9th Overall Pick
Chicago Bears Receive:
3rd Overall Pick
Rather than gambling the team's future by sending multiple future draft picks to move up from 3 to 2 or 1 in order to secure Drake Maye or Caleb Williams, it's possible that the Patriots could look to send 3 to the Chicago Bears for the 9th overall pick and Justin Fields. If Fields is truly worth a first, then this trade could be possible. If he's not, then Chicago would likely need to send more - remember what the Panthers gave up to move from 9 to 1 last year — it won't need to be that much, but relatively close.
What would this mean for the Chicago Bears?
The Chicago Bears could have their cake and eat it too
Well, if the Chicago Bears and Patriots make this trade, it's possible that they could walk away with their pick at quarterback — let's assume it is Caleb Williams. Ryan Poles could take Poles with the first-overall pick knowing that Washington would likely take Drake Maye. If Washington wants Caleb Williams that bad and Poles has Maye graded closely with Williams, then Poles could move down one spot from 1 to 2 and collect a little extra draft capital in the process. Let's say the 1st overall pick for 2 and 36 or 2 and 67. I would love it if Poles somehow landed that second-rounder in the process.
If Poles takes the quarterback of his choosing at 1.01, it means that at 1.03 he could take arguably the best prospect in the draft — Marvin Harrison, Jr. Some are putting Malik Nabers and/or Rome Odunze in the same tier as Harrison, but I refuse to do so. Harrison is in a tier of his own, even above the quarterbacks for me.
This should appease many Bears fans who don't want to draft Caleb Williams knowing that if the Bears do this they won't be able to add Marvin Harrison to the roster too. Well, now those fans will see Chicago land the quarterback and the receiver — leaving only the true Justin Fields fans unhappy.