How players’ Justin Fields defense impacts Caleb Williams decision
The Chicago Bears are going to have a difficult decision on their hands this offseason. Chicago thought that they had found their quarterback of the future when they drafted Justin Fields, but the Bears haven’t had a lot of success since he became QB1. Now, they will have an opportunity to draft another college star QB, but will they take it?
Caleb Williams is currently the QB for USC football, but he will more than likely be heading to the NFL next season, and he is expected to be the top pick in the draft. The Bears could be in the market for a new QB. Justin Fields has certainly had some good moments with the Bears, but the team hasn’t been able to find success since he came aboard. They could go after Williams, but a lot goes into that decision. One thing that goes into it is how the current team feels about the situation.
“Players know, players understand,” Former Saints and Dolphins general manager Randy Mueller said on the Hoge & Jahns podcast last week. “That locker room understands as well it probably is going to be a little hard for the new guy to win over that locker room. But we’re all big boys — and (the new quarterback’s) going to have to win over a whole city from that standpoint. But, yeah, it’s not without some trepidation that a decision is made like that.”
Obviously, the front office for the Bears will end up making the call, but what the players think is a major part of the decision process. If they aren’t a fan of Fields, then it would seem like a no-brainer to go out and draft a talented QB. However, Fields is liked by his teammates, and he clearly has a lot of potential to be a very good NFL QB. Because of that, it’s going to be a tough decision for Chicago.
“I’m not going to let the players dictate what I do at the end of the day,” Mueller said, according to an article from The Athletic. “But they’re going to have their say. They have to be heard. But I would expect this team to come to the defense of Justin Fields. That doesn’t shock me that they said that. I would hope they would. It does make you feel good if you do decide that Justin is the preferred route. It makes you feel good about that. But I think you have to have a dialogue. They have to feel heard. You have to talk to all these guys … and have a dialogue with them the whole time. They have to get it. What they say publicly may or may not be how they feel at the end of the day.”
