And is mini Ditka part of the deal?
It is the Bears. This probably does not work out for them at all. And what exactly did they get return? This is QB driven league. This would suggest, which goes against most things I read here, that you draft another QB.
All of the top 4 guys come with major question marks so there isn't a guy who is clearly better than Fields. And whatever you think of Fields, he had no OL and a pitiful WR group in 2023 and the Bears defense was in the process of being torn down.
On top of that the Bears need help at virtually every unit on the field except perhaps QB and TE. If they sign Montgomery they are okay at RB. But they need at least 2 OL, probably at least 4 guys in the defensive front 7, a WR1 (which they solved with this trade), probably 2 dbs of some sort. That isn't going to happen in free agency or in one draft unless they're extremely lucky.
If Fields sucks this year, the Bears have a ton of assets to get a top QB in the 2024 draft.
If Fields plays great with improvements to his supporting cast, the Bears are well positioned for the future.
Their position is really hedged either way.
If you draft a QB this year, you either waste the value of the 2023 pick or marginalize Fields’ value in a trade.
and Williams.
Maybe build up an offensive line so the quarterback they have now doesn't get killed.
Excite me. If young was a bit bigger, he'd be the easy pick. Richardson is a combine creation and won't be in the league in 3-4 years. Stroud or Levis just do not seem to have it.
If this was next year and the Bears had the 1 pick, it would be easy that they would draft Williams and everyone agrees with that.
Now Fields has no excuses. he has some weapons to thrown to. My very best bet is the Bears will be in the market for a new QB next year.
So I disagree that Fields has no excuses, but that certainly takes one off the list. And his contract isn't too big going forward (cap hits of $20 mil and 2 times $16 mil the following years).
I like that Poles likes to trade down, not up all of the time, quite different from the previous Ryan P.
And they could be in the market for a QB next year and now they have extra 1st round picks, if needed, to get one.
Ant that still won't preclude drafting an offensive lineman with the #9 pick... or even trading down a few slots from #9, getting an additional pick, and taking an offensive lineman with a pick in the teens.
Spend and OL and DL will be upgraded. It will be decided one way or another on fields next year. They'll have the draft capital next year to select a Qb if needed.