Getty QB Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears are considering drafting a quarterback with the top overall pick and keeping Justin Fields on the roster, though one former high-ranking franchise executive said that move could blow up in the team’s face.
Former Bears Director of Player Personnel Josh Lucas spoke with Bill Zimmerman of SB Nation’s Windy City Gridiron on Thursday, February 15. During that interview, Lucas offered a candid assessment of Fields and how he interacted with veteran quarterbacks Nick Foles and Andy Dalton in Chicago during his 2021 rookie season.
Lucas’ review of Fields general behavior with those in his QB room does not bode well for a future relationship between Fields and a player clearly drafted by the team as his eventual successor.
Should Bears keep Fields and draft Caleb? Josh Lucas says it didn’t work well with Fields and Dalton/Foles.
“Justin wasn’t great his rookie year, we thought having two vets with him would really help him and that was not cohesive at all.”
Full interview: t.co/Pk8RkcMUzh
“Justin wasn’t great his rookie year,” Lucas said. “We thought having two vets with him would really help him, with Andy and Nick, and that was not cohesive at all.”
Lucas continued on, describing Fields as “abrasive” and “standoffish” in his interactions with his elder quarterbacks on the roster.
The part I kinda liked about it is Justin knew he was the best and should be out there. But the part you don’t like about it is there’s a teachable moment in every point of practice. There [are] teachable moments in the building during the day, how you carry yourself as a quarterback. There are teachable moments at press conferences. There [are] teachable moments every snap on Sunday. And when you’ve got two guys who’ve won as much as Nick and seen as much as Andy, and you don’t take that information in because you’re a little standoffish and a little abrasive, you know, you’re wasting that opportunity.
Bears Could Create Locker Room Division By Drafting Caleb Williams, Retaining Justin Fields
GettyQuarterback Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans.
Lucas went on to conclude that the Bears would be taking a considerable risk drafting a player like Caleb Williams of USC and also keeping Fields on the roster — mostly because of Fields’ previous predisposition toward any threat to his supremacy at the position.
“It would be risky from a team dynamic standpoint,” Lucas said. “But if you think it out and let Caleb sit for a year and you still continue to build your team and you get another year of Justin on a cheap deal, it’s not the craziest thing.”
In the end, the question to answer will be how much Fields has changed in the more than two years since his rookie campaign ended. Dalton and Foles are long gone, and Fields is now the prominent veteran voice in both the QB room and the locker room.
While that evolution, along with simply growing older, suggests maturity, it could also put the Bears in a tough spot if and when they try to move on from Fields and replace him with Williams or the like.
“The NFL is flat out showing us it’s unbelievably beneficial to sit. From [Jordan] Love in Green Bay, from [Patrick] Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady — it’s extremely beneficial for a quarterback to be able to sit,” Lucas said. “You would have a chance to have Justin perform even better and give you more leverage in a trade going forward. It’s not crazy to think out.”
“But, if you think that it could combust, if you think that the people in the [locker room] love Justin so much — which that might be true because Justin is a very likable guy — and they’re gonna kinda, like, shun off Caleb — you just never know,” Lucas continued.
Bears Accused of ‘Smokescreen’ After Report Team Considering Justin Fields, Caleb Williams on Same Roster
GettyQuarterback Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported on Super Bowl Sunday that the Bears were seriously considering keeping Fields and also drafting a quarterback No. 1 overall — presumably Williams.
“They have talked about the idea, as unlikely as it seems, of carrying both quarterbacks,” Schefter said. “Taking the guy at [No. 1] and keeping Fields. Now, will they get to that? It’s hard to imagine that. But that is a conversation that has come up within the organization.”
Tedy Bruschi, Schefter’s co-host on Sunday NFL Countdown, quickly responded with an accusation that Chicago was throwing up a “smokescreen.”
“We are entering smokescreen season by these teams, and there’s no way they keep Caleb Williams and they also have Justin Fields on the roster,” Bruschi said. “Something is happening here. A trade is gonna be worked. Fields is moved, or they’re taking Caleb No. 1. There’s no way. That’s smokescreen all over the place.”
Schefter took umbrage with the comment, indicating that while the decision to draft Williams and keep Fields remains unlikely, it is a real conversation inside the building.
“I’m not telling you they’re doing it,” Schefter responded. “But hey’ve talked about it. That’s not smokescreen, that’s a fact.”
Chicago technically has until the end of April to decide how it wants to proceed. However, free agency begins in March and the Bears will need to look for a trade partner for Fields if they don’t intend to keep him, which could put a time crunch of the next couple of weeks on any call the franchise intends to make.