Corey Wootton Reveals Why He is “Standing Firm” on Bears Keeping Justin Fields
The Chicago Bears are set to pick first in the 2024 NFL Draft. The consensus is they will hold on to that pick and select USC QB Caleb Williams. However, that is not what everyone thinks the teams should do.
Some have indicated Justin Fields has turned things around and should be retained. Even more than that, the Bears should trade down for a huge haul that could be used to build around Fields.
That is how former Bears defensive end Corey Wootton thinks the team should do, and he discussed this on Bleav in Bears.
"I'm still firm on keeping Justin Fields and building around him. I feel like the way that team finished the season, they were a playoff-caliber team. I think Justin Fields, especially in that Falcons game, really sold it for me when people criticized his passing down the field, his precision, and his release. That was all on point. And I think there's a correlation between a good game plan and him performing well."
via Corey Wootton, Bleav in Bears
Fields did play very well during the latter half of the season, but it's his inconsistency that has led to his status as a true franchise quarterback being called into question.
The Bears did beat Detroit and nearly took down Cleveland. Still, they do have the #1 overall pick, and selecting Caleb Williams might be too big to pass up.
"Imagine D.J. Moore, and Marvin Harrison Jr. in that backfield. Cole Kmet in the red zone. That will be a dynamic offense right there. I think they're so close to being a playoff team. This should have been a year ago. If they could finish some games, imagine adding those pieces and building around them. And now Justin Fields finally has a play caller that can script for success. So I'm going to stick with Justin Fields. I'm going to build around him. I think you get a hall if you trade that pick back and be able to rebuild this team."
via Corey Wootton, Bleav in Bears
Wootton believes the Bears should trade back with one of the other quarterback-hungry teams and stack even more draft picks. They currently own #1 and #9. They could use this as an opportunity to bring in an additional first-round pick for 2025, along with additional compensation for 2024.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is the best receiver in the draft, and the Bears could theoretically trade down a few spots to secure Harrison Jr. while stacking even more picks in the process.
It's a gamble, and the Bears will need to think about this decision. Should Fields get one more shot to lead this team to the playoffs? Time will tell.
James Brizuela has been a professional writer since 2019. After covering entertainment and the NFL for Sportskeeda, he now works as an Assignment Desk Editor for the LA Sports Report Network which has partnered with the Sports Illustrated FanNation Network, focusing on his expertise in LA sports at the college and professional level.