INDIANAPOLIS — Ryan Poles has no intention of revealing his quarterback plan this week, but if the Chicago Bears do plan to draft one as expected, Poles has thought through the process far enough to know he wants to “do right by” Justin Fields.
The Bears are the talk of the town at the NFL scouting combine as they hold the Nos. 1 and 9 draft picks and are flush with salary-cap space with free agency two weeks away.
“I haven’t had, like, big-time conversations with anyone,” Poles said Tuesday morning. “But everyone wants to take the temperature of what’s going on.”
There’s no overstating how pivotal this offseason is for the Bears, who made strides in 2023 and finished 7-10 but still brought up the rear in the NFC North. Poles and coach Matt Eberflus are entering Year 3 after a methodical overhaul of the roster. For all the pressure that comes with that, Poles came across Tuesday as both excited by the unknown lying ahead yet calm at the same time.
Perhaps the experience of owning the top pick a year ago, which he dealt away to the Carolina Panthers, has prepared him for the moment. That trade happened about a week after the combine.
“I have no master plan to present to everyone today,” Poles said. “This is an opportunity for us to continue to gather information, learn about the different players in the draft, listen to what opportunities could come up, and then at the end of the day, we’re going to make the best decision that we can.
“It will not be based on fear of what could happen with this and what could happen with that. We’re going to put our information together and make the best decision because at the end of the day, we’ll always throw our decision-making against our core deal, which is win championships and sustain success for a long period of time.”
Quarterback prospects began arriving Tuesday for orientation and the initial wave of team interviews. It’s the start of a fascinating process that could carry into April when considering pro days, top-30 visits and private workouts. It’s of interest when looking at both of the Bears’ first-round picks. The more quarterbacks who come off the board in the first eight picks, the more options at other positions.
If it’s not a fait accompli the Bears will draft a quarterback at No. 1 — or very near the top of the draft — it seems darn close. Poles was asked if he would prefer to have a trade of Fields in place before free agency opens March 13 (no trade can be executed before that date) if he indeed plans to draft a quarterback.
“It just depends on what opportunities pop up,” he said. “I will say this: I think you guys know me well enough now, if we go down that road, I want to do right by Justin as well. No one wants to live in gray. I know that’s uncomfortable. I wouldn’t want to be in that situation either.
“So we will gather the information, we will move as quickly as possible — we are not going to be in a rush — and see what presents itself and what’s best for the organization.”
You don’t muse about the possibility of trading your might-be franchise quarterback and then walk it back a few weeks later after completing evaluations of what’s considered a strong QB class. Put another way, when is the last time you heard a team openly discuss trading away an elite quarterback?
This is as sure a sign as we’ve seen — if you’ve required hints since the season ended — of which direction this is headed. Poles likes Fields an awful lot. He recognizes he’s a hard worker, professional in his approach and a popular teammate in the locker room.
But the Bears have given it three years. They did a lot of work to improve the roster around Fields a year ago, and when you hear Poles talk about the pursuit of sustained success, it’s difficult to imagine that involving Fields, who would cost more than $25 million in 2025 if the Bears kept him and executed the fifth-year option in his contract.
In many ways, Fields was set up to fail in his first two seasons. That’s the unfortunate reality many highly drafted quarterbacks find themselves thrust into when they’re chosen by teams with poor rosters and coaching staffs under pressure. It’s also in no way, shape or form a good reason to continue down the same path.
The flip side is the Bears can get a new starting quarterback, who wouldn’t be entering Year 4 of his contract until 2027, add an impact player with a second Round 1 pick and feel like they have about as good a situation for any QB drafted No. 1 in a long, long time. The Bears didn’t earn the top pick with atrocious play this season. They fleeced it from the Panthers.
“Everything our guys have said (about Fields) is true, and not surprised our guys have said what they said,” Poles said. “I feel the same way. I think sometimes this whole thing gets — it’s Justin versus another person — and I have to look at it a little bit differently. I take that into effect. That’s why the person is so important when we evaluate all the people that would come in at that position.
“But also it’s my job to think of the long term, and a lot of our guys kind of don’t see that. It’s not their job to do that and they defend their guy, which I think speaks volumes about our culture in that locker room.”
Poles said he has received zero indications USC quarterback Caleb Williams would have any issues about coming to the Bears. The evaluation process has to start with Williams and then fan out to several other prospects such as LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and beyond. They need to know everything there is about every option.
Williams has been the presumptive No. 1 pick since this time last year. Poles repeatedly emphasized the process of getting to know the prospects, which will involve many settings: interviews this week in Indianapolis, visits to Halas Hall, on-campus visits, probably virtual meetings as well.
Poles said he pledged transparency to Fields during an exit interview at the end of the season, and he’s being as revealing as he can to the public. Reports before the Super Bowl said it would take an unprecedented (think ridiculous) offer to pry the No. 1 pick from the Bears.
What did that really signal? The Bears don’t sound inclined to trade that pick, but Fields is available.
