Thrust into a franchise-altering NFL Draft decision this April, the Chicago Bears are – in blackjack terms – could make the odd decision of splitting 10s.
Rather than picking between incumbent Justin Fields and presumptive No. 1 pick Caleb Williams, ESPN is reporting they might decide to hold both quarterbacks for the 2024 season.
“The Bears have talked about the idea, as unlikely as it seems, of carrying both quarterbacks,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Sunday from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas ahead of Super Bowl 2024.
Schefter went on to say that the Bears would take their guy in the draft – presumably USC’s Williams – while holding on to Fields.
“It’s hard to imagine that,” Schefter continued. “But that is a conversation that’s come up within the organization.”
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Saturday that trading for the No. 1 overall pick require insane amounts of compensation in order to pry it away from Chicago.
“It would take a historic haul, something crazy for the Bears to move off of the No. 1 overall selection,” Rapoport said. “That bit of knowledge contains wide-ranging ramifications. First of all, that is an indication, absent some sort of wild draft compensation for someone trying to move up for Caleb Williams, that is a sign they will likely take a quarterback No. 1.”
But Chicago deciding to stick with a still improving Fields and attempt to develop Williams in 2024 would be a unique situation without much precedent in NFL history.
We can look back at when the Cardinals decided to select Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, just one year after they drafted Josh Rosen with the 10th pick. Even then, the Cardinals turned Rosen into a tragic hero, as they decided to trade him after the draft to the Dolphins where he has since struggled and bounced around the league.
Fields, who showed significant progress in the pass game in 2023, is already a premier duel threat player.
He is one of three quarterbacks in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards in a season.
But the offensive line is going to be an issue no matter who is taking snaps behind center, Fields was sacked on 10.6 percent of snaps, the fifth most of any quarterback behind only Tommy DeVito, Daniel Jones, Ryan Tannehill and Zach Wilson.
Fields was also in the bottom half in quarterback rating among starting quarterbacks as the Bears offense struggled to make significant gains.
Still, his big arm and athleticism would be attractive to any quarterback needy team.
ESPNs Jeremy Fowler reported that Fields is worth between a second- and third-round pick according to league sources.
Teams that could look for Fields’ services in 2024 include the Steelers, Raiders, Falcons, Broncos and Patriots among others.