(670 The Score) The Bears have a pivotal decision looming this offseason as they must decide whether to move forward with quarterback Justin Fields or select his replacement in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Bears players are aware that their front office has been scouting prized quarterback prospects like USC's Caleb Williams and North Carolina's Drake Maye, and they know that a segment of the fan base is clamoring for change. But amid that external noise, Bears players have continued to throw their support behind Fields. Top receiver DJ Moore praised Fields' "phenomenal" growth during his appearance on the Mully & Haugh Show on Monday morning, and star cornerback Jaylon Johnson shared a similar sentiment in his appearance on the Parkins & Spiegel Show later in the evening.
Johnson explained in great detail why the Bears are united around Fields.
“Honestly, I think for us, it’s one of those things where we know what talk and speculation are,” Johnson said. “And I feel like we got to address this too. The realistic side of the game, of the business, is the GM’s job, honestly, is to replace the coaches and the players with the best coaches or players they can. They’re trying to build the best team, to build the best performance. We know and understand in a sense of the pressure and the realism of what we’re doing. It’s like I’m not just out here playing corner just to collect checks. I’m playing this game to keep my job, because they’re going in, they have college scouts, they have free agent scouts, that are looking to figure out who can we have to replace Jaylon?
“We understand nobody in a sense is expendable. Anybody can get replaced, anybody can get cut, anybody can get traded. It’s like, you know in a sense what the talks are above you. For us in the locker room, it’s like our job to build and get close with the group that we have – and we have in a sense to believe in everybody that’s in the locker room, because at the end of the day, everybody is in that locker room for a reason. They felt like this roster is better than the roster that we had last year, so they’re trying to achieve to out-do each roster. So, the guys that we have brought in, we’re only going to mesh closer and closer and closer because that’s all we really have. The industry and the game is so cutthroat. You wake up one day and somebody is gone and you really never see them. I’ve had plenty of teammates that I've talked to, I'm like, ‘All right, bro, see you tomorrow,’ and then he’s cut and I may not see him for another year and a half playing for another team. Just knowing that, it makes you want to get closer to guys because you never really know who’s going to be there, who’s not going to be there.
“Like, (Fields) is our quarterback. Like, we believe in Justin, we’ve seen Justin play at a high level. It’s not like we just have a quarterback and we see, like, ‘Nah, he’s not it.’ No, he’s a guy to me that checks a lot of the boxes. We’re only going to jell closer together, we’re only going to defend him, we’re only going to pump him up, we’re only going to put what we have into him because he’s our guy. He’s the guy in the locker room, he’s the guy that makes plays, he’s the guy that leads us, he’s the guy that takes everything onto the chin. Like, if there’s somebody who’s going to step up and say it’s his fault, it's him. There’s no better reason for us to go to bat for our quarterback than what we have in our locker room and what Justin has done for us and our team. But we know what the talks are. Overall, we know what the talks are. When you have the No. 1 overall pick, normally you choose a quarterback.
“There are talks. Are we the best team? Has he had his best career year? We know in a sense what the talks are. But as far as breaking into the locker room, you can keep that on Twitter, keep that on social media, but don't bring that into our locker and try to project what you guys are thinking on us and try to create a story. We feel like nothing. We feel like Justin is that guy. That’s where I feel the frustration comes, is outside people trying to project that energy on us, trying to divide us our how do you feel about the No. 1 pick? There are very few guys to me in that locker room, that shouldn’t be in the locker room if they’re like, ‘We should take Caleb (Williams).’ No, I don’t think that’s how it goes. I feel like our locker room is too tight knit.”
Fields, 24, has thrown for 1,976 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 10 games this season. Two of those interceptions came on Hail Mary throws. The No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Fields has a fifth-year option on his contract that must be decided on this offseason.
The Bears (5-9) are in line to own the No. 1 overall pick thanks to the NFL-worst Carolina Panthers (2-12), who dealt their 2024 first-round selection to Chicago last March as part of a blockbuster deal to acquire the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Bears host the Cardinals (3-10) on Sunday at Soldier Field.