Bears upset one of their best players by deciding to trade Justin Fields
The Chicago Bears made one of the biggest decisions of the NFL offseason official this past weekend after trading away quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The decision to move on from their former first round pick had been expected to occur for weeks now, but the move has still rubbed some people in […]
The Chicago Bears made one of the biggest decisions of the NFL offseason official this past weekend after trading away quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The decision to move on from their former first round pick had been expected to occur for weeks now, but the move has still rubbed some people in Chicago the wrong way with how the front office seemingly handled the situation.
That sentiment has now been publicly shared by a few of Fields' former teammates in Chicago, although they still are understanding as to why the choice was made.
One of Fields' closest teammates on offense, tight end Cole Kmet, took the news especially hard as he was preparing to go out and celebrate for St. Patrick's Day.
“I was planning to hit the city and go out, but then I got a call from [head coach Matt Eberflus] and the people with the Bears, and decided to stay in after the news with Justin,” Kmet said on the CHGO Bears podcast. “Obviously, really upsetting that it came to that, and where it was at that moment, but you kind of felt like the writing was on the wall with that.”
The Bears' top offensive weapon, wide receiver DJ Moore shared some similar feelings after going on X (formerly Twitter) and posting "business is business" after the trade was officially announced on social media.
Moore couldn’t be more correct with that phrase and it's always a tough scene to watch a locker room leader depart, whether it was expected to happen or not.
The Bears' front office had to make what they believed to be the best decision for the future of the team. However, the organization still went out of their way to reach out to those close to Fields to explain their decision, something they by all means didn’t have to do, but chose to anyways to support their players.
“I don’t expect them to call me for that kind of thing, but it’s always nice when they do reach out,” Kmet said. “I think that’s a classy move by them to let guys who have been with Justin and are close with Justin let them know about the decision and why they made the decision. So I’m definitely grateful that they do that, and it’s not something they have to do, by any means.”
The Bears will now be moving on at the quarterback position and will be expected to select Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to take over as the team's starter. The Bears' front office have transformed the entire roster this offseason and have made Chicago potentially the most ideal roster for a first overall pick to walk into during their first year in the league.
“I still think, really exciting times for the Bears here,” Kmet said. “This is really exciting times and with whatever rookie they decide to go with, looks like that’s the direction that it’s going, what a great opportunity. What a great opportunity for a young kid to come in here with an infrastructure in place and be ready to go win football games from the get-go.”
The decision was a tough one to make for the Bears' front office but at least it seems like the locker room is beginning to accept the decision and feel confident about the direction the team is headed at the end of the day.
Bears reportedly turned down a bigger offer to do right by Justin Fields as Ryan Poles promised
Was it the right decision?
