Conservatively, we still have a six weeks of Justin Fields discourse left. Maybe Bears GM Ryan Poles repeats last year's move, where he makes the big predicted trade in early March, but that's unlikely – sending Fields to Atlanta, or Las Vegas, or Pittsburgh a month ahead of the draft probably isn't the leverage play that Poles is trying to pull off.
So, that means another six weeks of winter/Fields takes. They'll come randomly, like, for instance, this Kurt Warner take. Warner, who obviously knows a thing or two about football and is now an analyst for NFL Network, was asked recently while on the Rich Eisen show, and here's his response:
💻 @kurt13warner
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) February 14, 2024
"I simply have to ask the question, 'Has he proven to me that he's a franchise quarterback?'"
It'll be the #NFL topic until a decision is made in Chicago and we posed it to the @ProFootballHOF'er — what should #DaBears do with Justin Fields?#NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/NgzFu7viMz
"I've been outspoken on this," he said. "We can sit here and I can fully buy into that it hasn't been fair to Justin Fields because of the different coordinators and lack of talent around him, and all of that stuff. But if I'm making this decision, and I'm the Bears brass. I simply have to ask the question, 'Has he proven to me that he's a franchise quarterback?' Now, it might be unfortunate. 'Well, we didn't give him the pieces to prove it,' or 'Well, we've changed coordinators so many times and didnt' give him an opportunity to be his best.' I get that. But the bottom line is, we're in this moment, and that is the question that you have to ask. And if the answer to that question is not definitively, 'Yes, we believe he's a franchise quarterback. We have seen enough to say he's a franchise quarterback.' I believe you have to move on. You've got the #1 pick. There are other quarterbacks out there that project to be really good. No guarantees, we know that. But they project to be really good. But unless you know without a shadow of a doubt that Justin Fields is that guy, I believe you have to go the other route ..."
All in all, not the worst Fields take we've gotten this offseason; those will probably come later. It seems like more and more people around the league are coming to terms with the fact that the Bears' decision actually isn't as complicated as many are making it seem, and that Fields will be playing in another jersey come 2024. At least Warner didn't say anything crazy, like Caleb Williams has a 4th-round grade or anything.