Don’t lie: Many of you Chicago Bears fans have been keeping an eye on Justin Fields, haven’t you?
I know I have. I like the guy and hope he does well in Pittsburgh or wherever he ends up. It was a pleasant surprise to see Fields — strong word, but do we use it anyway? — lead the Steelers to a 2-0 start to the season after the Bears traded him away in the offseason.
As a Bears fan, you probably want to cheer for Fields too, because the draft pick they got for him will become a fourth-round pick next year if he continues to be a starter, which he probably only will if he continues to win.
But there is one thing we will not do, Bears fans: We will not collectively lament that we did not keep Fields and instead signed Caleb Williams.
As someone who probably liked Fields more than much of Bears Twitter despite his obvious weaknesses, it warms my heart a little to see him avoid turnovers and make good use of his early opportunities. (It’s also hilarious to see him ranked among the top five passers after two games.)
But when you watch his film, you see the same thing we’ve always seen in Chicago: brilliant ideas mixed with “that’s not going to work.” The only difference is he doesn’t make mistakes, which has contributed to his undefeated start but hardly represents a leap in his fourth NFL season.
If Russell Wilson had started the season healthy, Fields probably wouldn’t have been able to play much in the first two games.
Compare that to Caleb Williams and you can already see that this exercise will improve quickly with more reps.
Williams’ biggest problem right now is not that he doesn’t have a good view of the field or that he holds the ball for too long. In fact, his throw time (2.81 seconds) is 17th in the league. He gets the ball out in time (most of the time) and has his offense under control before the snap.
He just doesn’t do it have time. Also, his accuracy has been unusually inconsistent lately, which is probably related to the previous point.
Once the offensive line gels better — and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for that — and he tones down his superhero persona a bit, the foundation for Williams’ passing game will be there. It’s just going to take a while, which we should have given him anyway.
Conclusion: Williams’ arrow is still sharp Away up. Well, into the stratosphere. Fields, meanwhile, is still on his slow but steady road to recovery, which is honestly great for him, but wouldn’t have worked for the Bears considering what they would have had to pay him to keep him.
While it may be tempting to look back and say the Bears should have kept Fields, especially after seeing DJ Moore’s frustration last Sunday night, we… don’t.
Was Fields’ time in Chicago fair? No. Did he deserve some of the jabs and snide comments about his playing style? I don’t think so. Could he have played better? Absolutely.
The Bears simply made the right decision. Over time, no one will have any doubts.
