As each day passes, it sure sounds like the Chicago Bears’ separation with former first-round pick quarterback Justin Fields was very amicable. Now we have concrete evidence from Fields himself that the Bears legitimately did want to “do right” by the young signal-caller.
After a Pittsburgh Steelers OTA session on Tuesday, Fields talked to reporters about what it took to bring him to the organization. Fields revealed that it was Poles who pulled the strings on his trade, understanding that was the quarterback’s preferred destination if the Bears were going to deal him away.
This is something the Bears were under no obligation to follow through with, but Poles really wanted to leave on good terms with Fields:
Ryan Poles said he wanted to "do right" by Justin Fields.
Fields, today: "Shoutout to Poles, we communicated to him through my agent, and I told him where I wanted to be and this was a place I wanted to be, so he honored that and I appreciate him for that and glad he was able…
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) May 21, 2024
Could (should?) the Bears have gotten more in a Fields trade? Probably.
Is it generally good practice to let a departing player’s opinion influence a trade? Definitely not.
However, the Bears and Poles are trying to build a strong program around player belief, trust, and investment. In this one case, where they took care of the exciting, if flawed, quarterback who made the hapless Bears interesting for a few years, I think Poles and Co. deserve an exception.
