Most Chicago Bears fans can still tell you where they were when the Bears traded up to select Justin Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft. An offseason filled with hopelessness received a shot in the arm, and expectations for the exciting young quarterback went through the roof.
Sadly, Fields never came close to becoming Chicago's franchise quarterback, and less than three years after being drafted, he was traded.
Many believed this was the obvious path to take. While Fields was not a complete bust, he had not improved as much as had been hoped. That, plus Chicago's possession of the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft courtesy of the Carolina Panthers, spelled out his fate. The Bears would take a swing at a new quarterback and give Fields the chance to rebuild his career elsewhere.
Fast forward one year to today, and it seems like the Bears are no better off. In fact, it could be argued they are worse off, considering they dropped from 7 wins to just 5 in 2024.
Did the Bears once again make the wrong quarterback decision?
Trading Fields to draft a new quarterback was about setting up for long-term success, not for winning in 2024.
No, the Bears did not get this decision wrong. The arguments for keeping Fields from his impassioned fanbase made sense. Fields had shown flashes of being a top-three quarterback in the NFL. He is one of the best running quarterbacks in NFL history and has set several NFL QB rushing records. And if he could ever put it all together in the passing game, he could be an elite quarterback.
But he's going into Year 5 and he's no closer to becoming even a league-average passer than he was in Year 2. Meanwhile, quarterback Caleb Williams just put together one of the best passing seasons in franchise history, and he did that as a rookie while having to work with three different offensive coordinators and two head coaches.
It was not the season any Bears fan envisioned, but Williams did enough already to show why he was the consensus first-overall pick. Now, with head coach Ben Johnson in place and a flurry of quality additions to his offensive line, Williams is primed for a breakout season, one that will be far and away the best in Bears history.
Had the Bears kept Fields, they might have won more games in 2024. But the quarterback position would still be a huge question mark for 2025 and beyond. With Williams, a torturous 2024 season can soon be left far behind if he performs as expected when the regular season starts.
The Fields era was fun, but the Williams era has just begun, and this time there's championship potential.
