5 questions that need answered for Chicago Bears this season

4. Is Justin Fields earning an extension or his fifth-year option?

This is the year that Justin Fields has to take some steps forward. We are not saying that he has to win the Super Bowl, but the Chicago Bears need to leave the 2023 season knowing whether they can bet on Justin Fields or not.

First, they left him with a lot fewer excuses than a year before. They used the top pick to add D.J. Moore and Darnell Wright. Then, they signed offensive linemen and running backs and drafted some skill players as well. They are making sure that they have enough to leave this season without saying that Fields did not have enough to know for sure.

They did this because they have to. The Chicago Bears have serious decisions to make on Fields starting next offseason. Next year around this time will be the deadline to pick up his fifth-year option. That will be a possibility depending on how Fields plays, but both sides probably hope that an extension is actually the big discussion.

Both of them involve much more serious commitment than Ryan Poles has shown so far in his first two seasons as the Chicago Bears General Manager. He has been high on Justin Fields, but he has only dipped his toes into committing. If they pick up his fifth-year option and then do not talk extension, it says something. If they do not pick it up altogether, it says a lot. If they do not pick it up because they are talking extension it says something completely different. This will all be coming together in the next few months.