A report last week said that the Bears would have a quarterback plan in place by the Scouting Combine, but General Manager Ryan Poles threw cold water on that idea during a Tuesday press conference.
The Bears have Justin Fields under contract and they have the first pick in this year’s draft, so their call about how to move forward at the position is likely going to lead to a trade of some kind in the near future. Poles said on Tuesday that the team “won’t be in a rush” as they come to their decision.
“The hot topic,” Poles said. “The 1st pick. The quarterback situation. Contrary to reports out there, I have no master plan to present everyone today. This is an opportunity for us to continue to gather information, learn about the different players in the draft, listen to what opportunities could come up and then, at the end of the day, we’re gonna to make the best decision that we can for the Chicago Bears. It will not be based on fear of what could happen with this, what could happen with that. We’re gonna put our information together and make the best decision.”
Fields said last week that he wants to know where he’ll be in 2024 sooner rather than later and Poles says he can “understand how uncomfortable” the current situation is for the quarterback because “no one wants to live in gray.” Poles said it “depends on what opportunities pop up” when asked about a timeline for trading Fields if that becomes the path the team follows this offseason, so no resolution is likely right around the corner in Chicago.
