Former NFL QB highlights Bears' "mistake" not trading first draft pick to keep Justin Fields
Former NFL quarterback Steve Beuerlein has weighed in on the Bears moving on from Justin Fields and investing the first draft pick of the 2024 NFL Draft on Caleb Williams. The retired player and current NFL analyst suggested that the former Chicago quarterback was not given a chance to succeed as he did not have the kind of elite weapons that they do now.
He said, on The Bullpen with Adam The Bull, (Start at 3:31)
"I think there were a lot of things working against him [Fields] in Chicago. Mainly the instability and overall talent around him. Not being given the opportunity to grow in a system with a lot of weapons and different offensive philosophies that would fit him."
Beuerlein continued by saying that the Bears made a mistake by not trading away the first pick of the 2024 NFL Draft and not building around the quarterback that they already had. He continued, (Start at 5:22)
"My big statement on this whole evolution of what happened with Justin Fields, I thought the Bears made a huge mistake not trading that first pick."
Steve Beuerlein believes keeping Justin Fields would have made Bears more successful
The NFL analyst laid down his reasoning by saying that by trading away the first pick, they could have gotten more chances to select better players in the 2024 NFL Draft instead of the four they had in total. That, according to him, would have given them a better chance at aiming for the playoffs with a veteran NFL quarterback playing with some very good players around him.
Steve Beuerlein acknowledged that the Bears thought that Caleb Williams was an elite franchise quarterback in the way Justin Fields was not but maintained, (Start at 5:27)
"I think the Bears, if they trade away that first pick, commit to Fields for one more year, if they trade that first pick and commit to Justin Fields for a year, and I know the sentiment in Chicago is that Caleb Williams is an elite franchise QB... what they would've gotten in exchange for that first pick could've solidified that football team in a lot of areas, and prepared and set the table to go on a really nice run either this year or next year."
It may ultimately end up being a win-win situation for everyone if Justin Fields ends up learning behind Russell Wilson and becoming the new franchise quarterback for the Steelers, while Caleb Williams establishes himself in Chicago. One will have to wait a few seasons to pass judgment on that possibility.