Getty Justin Fields is already the subject of trade rumors after one season with the Chicago Bears.
Justin Fields has played just one NFL season for the Chicago Bears, and one analyst thinks that has been enough.
In his April 15 column for Sports Illustrated, Conor Orr broke down Chicago’s offseason so far and laid out why he thinks the league needs an NCAA-esque transfer portal for Fields and young players like him who are drafted by bad teams.
In college, when athletes are interested in transferring schools, they simply request that their names to be put into the transfer portal, which they can also choose to leave. Once in the portal, other schools have the opportunity to contact the player(s), giving them new opportunities. Orr thinks that’s what Fields and the NFL needs.
“Fields, or any player in a less-than-ideal situation, should be given the chance to work with the NFLPA to request a different assignment,” Orr wrote, adding: “This would force teams to maintain more of a consistent competitive spirit, or, at the very least, be more open with their fan base about the path forward and offer promising players some sort of back-end protection.”
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Orr: ‘Poorly Run’ Teams ‘Deserve’ to Lose Their Players
The Bears have had one of the more quiet offseasons of the 32 NFL teams, and new general manager Ryan Poles has been careful about his spending, adding low key free agents like wideouts Equanimeous St. Brown and Byron Pringle and offensive linemen Lucas Patrick and Dakota Dozier instead of any of the more marquee names on the market.
Considering how badly Fields needs both wide receivers and an offensive line to protect him, Orr thinks the Bears QB has more reason than the other signal-callers in his draft class to be upset about his current situation:
Look around the league at the rest of the quarterbacks from the 2021 class. The Jets tried to trade for Tyreek Hill. They signed one of the best free-agent tight ends … They spent top dollar on a guard. They’ll almost certainly add offensive line help with one of their four top-40 picks. The Jaguars spent a comical amount of money pacifying Trevor Lawrence, though we could debate whether that money is actually well-spent. Last year, the Patriots provided Mac Jones with two brand-new tight ends and two wide receivers. There is a behavior of encouragement and support that seems largely absent in Chicago.
When his opinion was challenged on Twitter, Orr wasn’t argumentative, but he also noted he believes teams that are run poorly “deserve to lose their players.”
@ConorOrr sure, if we want to abolish the draft, then something like that makes sense. But the entire point of the draft is that teams choose the players, not the other way around. That’s the fundamental difference from college.
@Johnathan_Wood1 That’s great! Franchises that are *that* poorly run deserve to lose their players. Unofficial relegation.
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Bears Nation Reacts to Orr
Orr did acknowledge it was Chicago’s previous general manager, Ryan Pace, who is largely responsible for the team’s current lack of game-changers on the roster, and he also credited Poles with his conservative approach this offseason.
“Poles is doing what any smart general manager would do,” Orr wrote. “He’s not throwing irresponsible money at a situation. He’s not sacrificing future draft capital. He is, in fact, trading away players like Khalil Mack to acquire more capital. This is a plan that is best for Chicago moving forward as an organization. Just not for the quarterback.”
Naturally, Bears Nation had a great deal to say about the subject:
Many fans reminded Orr that the Bears had one of the worst passing offenses in the league under ex-coach Matt Nagy when Fields was a rookie last year:
Others noted much depends on Fields himself:
The Draft Network’s Bryan Perez also called Orr’s article “way off:”
It’s clear the idea of Fields leaving Chicago is an unpopular one, and Poles and company have doubled down on Fields as their QB — but Orr reminded everyone what coaches and GMs say and do are two very different things.
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‘NFL Needs a Transfer Portal’ for Bears QB Justin Fields, Analyst Says