Proposed Justin Fields trade sparks frustration among Bears fans

The good folks at ALLCHGO posed a hypothetical question during a recent episode of their Chicago Bears podcast that didn’t go over well with Bears fans.

Check it out (as well as the replies). Yikes:

Could the Bears even fathom the thought of trading Justin Fields?

It’s a fun thought exercise if nothing else… ??? @AdamHoge @CarmieV @thecarm pic.twitter.com/VhPLbgzaNh

— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) January 6, 2023

It’s important to be fair to Adam Hoge, Mark Carman, and Carmen Vitali (who is one of the best NFC North analysts on the beat. Follow her on social media.) None of them argued for the trade. And, in the world of content creation, they did a good job. They sparked a conversation, even if it was a frustrating one.

Still, we aren’t even in the off-season yet. If this hypothetical talking point is indicative of what’s coming over the next several months? Buckle up.

Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears aren’t trading Justin Fields

Let’s make something overwhelmingly and abundantly clear: The Chicago Bears aren’t trading Justin Fields. They aren’t considering a Fields trade. The suggestion that GM Ryan Poles will do his due diligence on the 2023 NFL Draft quarterback class is true, but it’s only because it’s part of the draft process. It has nothing to do with Fields’ future in Chicago. He is the future in Chicago. Any deep dive Poles takes on Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, or Will Levis will be for draft-day trade valuation.

Bears coaches have spent the last week or so lauding Fields’ leadership and rare skill set. All of the praise is warranted, and it’s sincere. Perhaps it’s intentional, too.

Coach Matt Eberflus has gotten to know the Chicago media by now, and he knows it’s a group inherently unhappy with Bears quarterback play. It’s what comes along with the trauma suffered by watching Mike Glennon and Kordell Stewart and Jimmy Claussen. The Bears beat has been down this road of promising upside with Mitch Trubisky, too, only to see it lead to a dead end.

Eberflus knows what’s coming: Hypothetical trades of Justin Fields and questions about Bryce Young. It feels like he’s already doing his best to dismiss them in advance.

“I’m very impressed with his resiliency and his grit and how he fights, how he works,” Eberflus said Friday. “He really is able to take a great play and also a play that wasn’t too good and move to the next one. That’s a great quality to have as a leader.”

Photo by Quinn Harris-Getty Images

Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus are committed to Justin Fields

Eberflus and Poles weren’t part of the Bears” brain trust that selected Fields. You can bet a large sum that a Bears reporter or two will ask whether the coach or GM (or both) would prefer to pick “their guy” as they rebuild from the bottom up. Eberflus and Poles are already building a strategy for their case against that suggestion.

Trading Fields is a nonsensical suggestion. It’s ludicrous. It’s kind of embarrassing.

“He is an amazing athlete,” Eberflus said. “He really is. He can really lead this team. He’s done that. He’s certainly developing. We know that. He’s going to continue to develop as we go.”

Did you catch that last part? We.

Eberflus, Poles, and, yes, Justin Fields. Together, they are the Chicago Bears” present and future. And no off-season speculation or time-filler will change that.