The Chicago Bears‘ 2023 season was one with highs and lows. Ultimately, though, it is nearing its end. The 2024 offseason provides the Bears’ decision-makers some big-time questions to answer.
Chicago holds the first-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Will the team draft a quarterback and trade Justin Fields, or will they keep Fields and go elsewhere with the pick? Bears wide receiver DJ Moore gave his thought on the matter.
DJ Moore Backs Up Justin Fields
The Bears, with one game left, sit at 7-9 and have officially missed the 2023 NFL playoffs. However, despite their record, they also own the first-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft thanks to the Carolina Panthers, who sit at 2-14 and traded the pick to Chicago during last year’s draft.
One of the primary reasons for the Bears’ up-and-down year has been the QB position. Justin Fields has played in 12 games, missing four, and has passed for 2,414 yards, 16 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He also added 630 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
In the four games he missed, he was replaced by undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent. Bagent passed for 859 yards, three touchdowns, and six interceptions during that span. He also added two touchdowns and 109 yards on the ground.
The Bears went 2-2 with him as the starter, as opposed to 5-7 with Fields.
With the Bears having the first-overall pick, they will have the option to either move on from Fields or keep him. Moore believes the team should do the latter. “I mean, we want him here. I’ve been having a great year with him, so that should speak volumes. I just leave what they do (in the front office) upstairs at the end of the day,” said Moore.
“He’s ‘Him.’ I want him to be the quarterback. I said what I said; now it’s on the higher-ups. It’s up to them,” said Moore. Moore is in his first season with Chicago, having joined the team through the same trade that gave the Bears the first-overall pick in the draft. He has caught 92 passes for 1,300 yards and eight touchdowns this season, with the latter two marks being career-highs.
Fields was taken in the 2021 NFL Draft with the 11th overall pick. Since being drafted, he has played in 39 games, passing for 6,526 yards, 40 touchdowns, and 30 interceptions. He’s also run the ball 348 times for 2,193 yards and 14 touchdowns. His career record as a starting quarterback is 10-27.
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The Bears will have to decide this offseason whether they want to pick up Fields’ fifth-year option. They could also reportedly trade Fields for a second- or third-round pick, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. If the Bears move on from Fields, they would have their pick of USC’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye, the consensus top two QBs in this year’s class.
Besides owning the top pick in the draft, the Bears also have five other picks, including their own first-rounder. They also have just over $61 million in cap space for 2024 with potentially more on the way, according to Spotrac. The team has a plethora of tools with which to work regardless of whether they choose to build around a rookie quarterback or Fields moving forward.
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