Keep Justin Fields or draft a new QB with the No. 1 pick? Bears GM Ryan Poles ‘wide open’

Bears general manager Ryan Poles faced this same decision a year ago: Keep his faith in Justin Fields to be the franchise quarterback, or use the No. 1 pick in the draft to get someone better.

But the circumstances are much different.

As Poles discussed the choice Wednesday in the Bears’ season-ending news conference, he made sure not to say anything that would box himself in or weaken his leverage in a potential trade of Fields or the pick. So in a scenario in which he was incentivized to avoid saying anything definitive, it was far more about the way he talked than what he actually said.

Repeatedly, he sounded much more open to keeping the pick and drafting a new quarterback than he did last year.

“Justin got better; he can lead this team,” Poles said. “But at the same time, there is a unique situation. I have to look at everything, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

And it’s going to be a long look.

“In my mind right now, I’m gonna take this all the way to April,” Poles said.

He tried to frame this juncture as similar to the one he reached last year, when he said he’d need to be “absolutely blown away to make that type of [franchise-altering] decision” of drafting a quarterback No. 1 and moving on from Fields.

He hesitated at first, but used that line again Wednesday. But the reality is that if he’d been “blown away” by Fields this season as the Bears went 7-10, he wouldn’t be having this conversation.

This time around, it doesn’t feel like such a move would be so drastic.

Among the 29 quarterbacks who threw at least 300 passes, Fields finished 27th in completion percentage (61.4), 22nd in yards passing (2,562), 20th in touchdown passes (16), 11th in fewest interceptions (nine) and 20th in passer rating (85.6). He cut back on interceptions and upped his yardage from 2022, but there was negligible difference in the other categories.

Poles also argued that Fields took fewer sacks and looked downfield more, and coach Matt Eberflus added, “We love where Justin is right now.”

As the questions continued, Poles talked freely about assessing Fields objectively amid players campaigning for the Bears to keep him, his belief that there are enough pieces in place for a rookie quarterback to thrive right away and being undecided on activating Fields’ fifth-year option for 2025 (the deadline is this May).

“There’s a whole process here that we have to figure out, but what we’re going to do is what’s best for the organization. I’m sure there’s going to be similar situations in terms of the trade back and I’ve got to weigh all those things to see what’s going to help our team take the next step.”

The “trade back” avenue will be compelling for Poles, especially if he has conviction on Fields. He got this upcoming first-round pick, a 2025 second-rounder and wide receiver DJ Moore when he traded back with the Panthers last year from No. 1 to No. 9.

Given the hype over USC quarterback Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye, he’d almost certainly get more for the top pick this year.

“It’s hard to tell right now,” Poles said of the No. 1 pick’s trade value compared to last year. “Things change quick. Some of the mocks that you see now are probably not right, so that changes the whole dynamic. It’s tough to answer that question, but the first pick is always going to be in demand. How much? I don’t know.”

Poles could, theoretically, convert the No. 1 pick into a flurry of draft capital and fill out the roster with quality young players. But the Bears have gone the everything-but-the-quarterback route before and gotten nowhere, so he would have to right about Fields.

That’s the pressure Poles is under. He can’t let that happen again.

He inherited Fields, then kept him last year rather than using the pick to draft a quarterback. Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud went No. 2 to the Texans and far outplayed Fields this season while vaulting himself into MVP candidacy and his team into the playoffs. Now he gets another chance to make a big move, and he can’t come out of this sequence — inheriting Fields one year after he was drafted No. 11 overall, then getting back-to-back No. 1 picks — without a franchise quarterback.

At different points Poles said he had to “take the emotion” out of his evaluation of Fields and “look at the whole deal there,” but also that he was “wide open to anything” when it came to trade offers for the No. 1 pick. He even indulged the thought of keeping Fields and drafting a quarterback No. 1, which almost certainly wouldn’t happen.

“My brain has gone crazy all year thinking of the million different scenarios,” Poles said. “I’ll just stay very wide open with the different paths we can go.”

While his phrasing was somewhat similar to a year ago, it felt different. Fields didn’t set a particularly high bar with his play this season and had enough uncertainty about his standing in the organization that he said a provisional goodbye to the fans after losing to the Packers on Sunday. Poles is staying “wide open” because Fields didn’t do enough this season to convince him to eliminate the alternatives.