The Chicago Bears have decided to keep quarterback Justin Fields rather than trade away their No.1 pick in the NFL Draft.
The Bears hold the No.1 selection after having the worse record in the 2022 season, with the team being expected to struggle after putting together a poor roster around their starting quarterback Fields. But despite their struggles, Fields played impressively well in his second season in the league, breaking records with his rushing ability as he finished the season with a whopping 1,143 yards on the ground.
The Bears might not have made their decision to keep Fields around if it had not been for his vastly impressive second half of the season, with many suggesting that the smart move might be to move on.
Fields can ask for an extension after this season, which usually makes it much more difficult to build a winning roster when you have a quarterback on a large contract, rather than one on a rookie deal.
And with the No.1 pick, the Bears can select any of the four highly draft quarterbacks in this class (Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson) while also potentially acquiring another first-round pick if they traded Fields away.
However, NFL insider and NBC reporter Peter King has stated: "It’s clear he’s not trading Fields, and he’s not picking a QB high in this draft."
This news will shake up the NFL Draft, and will put a number of teams on high alert. Here, Mirror Sport looks at how it will certainly affect five team's plans for the next few weeks.
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts have been strongly rumoured to be interested to make the trade from #4 to #1 to acquire the first pick of the draft. They now may pull the trigger to make that deal happen at any given moment.
The Colts are openly looking for a quarterback after going the veteran route the last three seasons, with Phillip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan all failing.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks have surprisingly emerged as a contender to draft a quarterback with the latest news emerging being that Geno Smith may hit free agency.
The Hawks are seemingly unwilling to pay Smith the huge extension he requires, and may opt to draft a quarterback will having the fifth overall pick.
If their general manager John Schneider does indeed fall in love with one of the prospects, don't be surprised to see the Hawks attempt to trade up with the Bears.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers are another team who have shown interest in the number one pick and are in the market for a quarterback after both Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield have failed to nail down the starting spot, who are now both free agents.
The team have recently hired offensive guru Frank Reich as head coach, and will no doubt attempt to make a move for the top draft pick, while having the assets to do so with a pretty healthy-looking roster.
Houston Texans
Texans fans will never get over with what happened on the last day of the season... After having the worst record throughout the year, they inexplicably won their final outing of the campaign in a meaningless game which saw them have a better record than the Bears and lose the first overall pick.
In the market for a quarterback, the Texans now risk not getting their first choice, unless they trade up with Chicago to ensure it.
Las Vegas Raiders
After being heavily linked with Aaron Rodgers for the past month, general manager Dave Ziegler has suggested that the team will be going down the draft route, instead.
But with only having the seventh pick, they may now have to make a move into the top five to ensure that they get one of the top four guys.
The Raiders are another team with a healthy roster, and could offer the Bears some well-needed depth to acquire the top pick.
