The Justin Fields debate has been a hot topic around the Chicago Bears for months now, and it appears that it will continue a lot closer to the NFL draft than last year. While there are valid reasons to keep him, there are just as many good reasons to move on. Why should the Chicago Bears draft a quarterback first overall and move on from Justin Fields?
3. The Chicago Bears have to answer big questions with Justin Fields' salary
A lot of supporters of Justin Fields try to take away from the debate of Fields or the top quarterback in the draft by noting that the real debate is Fields, along with a heap of assets in a trade down would be counter to the top overall pick. However, that is discounting too much from the other side.
The first overall pick will be on a four-year deal, making roughly $10M per year. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears will have to decide on a fifth-year option for Justin Fields that will be roughly $22M. They could decline this, but then Fields would enter the year with a chance to hit free agency if he played. The Bears would have to pick this up if they did not dratf a quarterback.
More than that, they probably would have to be talking extension with Fields, considering they are passing on top talent for the next four to five years. Would they rather pay the top quarterback $10M over the next four years or Justin Fields $40M over the next four years? That is when things get more complicated.
As Justin Fields ages, his running will be less valuable. He has not shown enough as a passer to be trusted with that type of long-term money. This is a chance for the team to make a clean break, and they should.
2. The Chicago Bears saw firsthand that Justin Fields cannot compete with Jordan Love
It is hard to say that one game can change everything in an evaluation, but it is also hard to watch the Green Bay Packers move up and down the field without thinking that Justin Fields simply cannot do a lot of what Jordan Love is doing.
You can say what you want about the play calling, but Jordan Love was making big-time passes, regardless of play caller. Fields has had similar performances, but they are rare and far between, they are against the worse defense, and they are never as complete top to bottom.
In his first year starting against a talented defense, we saw Jordan Love put together a performance that Justin Fields can only hope to put together. The Chicago Bears can either enter the next five years or so knowing that the Packers have a better passer than them, or they can take the escape route and find someone who can go blow for blow with Jordan Love and perhaps outduel him soon.
If Justin Fields showed that he can at least look close to Jordan Love, it may be a debate. Seeing those two side-by-side was too eye-opening to avoid.
1. Moving on from Justin Fields gives the Chicago Bears more quarterback options
The Chicago Bears have an interesting decision to make with their offensive coordinator. While they will interview candidates and get their input on the quarterback, it is hard to see them hire a coordinator without a firm decision on what to do with Justin Fields.
There are only so many coordinators who would want the job if Fields were the quarterback because you have to limit your playbook and lean into the running game. This fits different styles but is not a common offensive style.
Meanwhile, if they draft a quarterback, they could go in any direction with their offensive coordinator. The pool gets wider because the options are stronger, and their job status is much more stable because they are not coaching a quarterback in a make-or-break year; they are starting fresh.
The Chicago Bears can force Fields on candidates and not find the best one. Or, they can cast a wide net, hire the best candidate, and let him draft his favorite quarterback to work around. It is hard to see the Bears making the move to an offensive coordinator while committing to Justin Fields long-term and having it work out smoothly next year when expectations ramp up. They should just move on.