Justin Fields making it 'difficult' for Bears to make decision with No. 1 overall pick
Justin Fields is making it very difficult for the Chicago Bears regarding the No. 1 overall pick and potentially selecting Caleb Williams, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
At one point, it seemed like a foregone conclusion the Bears would select the USC quarterback to be the new franchise signal caller. However, Fields played really well down the stretch, leading to wins for Chicago.
Going into Year 4 in 2024 could be the big leap for Fields or the Bears will start anew with Williams.
“I’m told the Bears are in the early stages of the draft evaluation of all the top players regardless of position including the top quarterbacks,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “They’ll do character studies, deep film works spanning over years, including on that player right there, Caleb Williams, who most around the league field is the number one talent acquisition if the guys are gonna go that route.
“But they still have Justin Fields and I’m told that he’s made the decision very difficult by the way he’s played particularly down the stretch. So they have options … I have talked to some people in and around the program who believe they will eventually land on Caleb Williams or a quarterback at number one but still has to be sorted out.”
Fields was open and honest about his teammates still believing and believing in him back in November. Following a 12-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings, Fields broke it down.
“The guys never wavered, so the guys in the locker room, appreciate them for sticking beside me and believing in me,” Fields told reporters after the game.
“And (the) defense did a great job by getting us the ball back for that last drive. And offense did a great job executing those plays. Felt great, and really just felt good of fighting through the adversity, ups and downs of the game. Guys never got too high or too low, and we fought and finished in the end, so it was good.”
Fields finished the 2023 season with 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, a 61.4% completion percentage, 657 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
But the talent of Williams is very tantalizing. In two years at USC, the former Heisman Trophy winner had 8,170 yards, 72 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 67.5% completion percentage.
The NFL Draft is just a couple of months away, giving the Bears some time to make this landmark decision.