Could the Chicago Bears keep Justin Fields after all?

ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that the Bears are considering keeping Fields at quarterback and still taking a signal-caller with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

That quarterback would likely be USC’s Caleb Williams, who is widely viewed as the best prospect in this year’s draft class.

This seems rather strange, to say the least.

If the Bears plan on taking Williams with the top overall selection, why would they opt to retain Fields instead of trading him?

While Fields does not have tremendous trade value, Chicago could still surely get something decent in return for the youngster, especially after he showed flashes of brilliance in 2023.

Plus, Fields will be 25 years old next season, which is still very young. It’s not as if he is a veteran that Williams can learn from in his first year.

It seems hard to imagine that the Bears will draft Williams with the idea of still rolling with Fields for the future.

Perhaps Chicago will revisit trade talks for Fields later in the offseason? Still, that seems rather counterproductive, as you would think Fields’ trade value would decrease at that point.

Or maybe the Bears simply do not know what they are going to do, so they are floating this rumor out there to throw other teams off the scent?

Obviously, Chicago is not going to come outright and say that it is trading Fields, as it would lose all of its leverage. So maybe this rumor was leaked by someone within the Bears’ organization in order to maintain (or increase) Fields’ trade value between now and the draft in late April?

Whatever the case may be, Chicago remains one of the most interesting ballclubs to watch heading into the offseason.

Justin Fields and the Bears went 7-10 this past year.

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