What's Next After Justin Fields' Departure?

The Bears need a quarterback and there are still reasons why they might resist drafting Caleb Williams, although the list is pretty short.

The natural next step following the trade of Justin Fields is looking ahead to finding his replacement.

It seems on the surface to be an easy search. USC's Caleb Williams has been a consensus No. 1 pick overall throughout this offseason, college season and the 2022 college season.

Consensus doesn't make the first pick of the draft this year. The Bears do.

At least they are scheduled to make it.

It's still a leap forward to put Williams wearing a Bears hat and standing next to Roger Goodell on the stage in Detroit April 25.

With Fields now out of their future, the reset at the sport's most important position has begun for them.

Here's why it's possible another quarterback could still wind up in Chicago, but also pretty unlikely.

1. Pro Day and Physical

The Bears haven't even seen Williams work out yet in person and he will do it on Wednesday at Southern Cal's pro day. What if the physical turns up something? They've already talked to him at the combine and understand his personality, if not some of his ability to process mentally on plays based on film they looked at in Indianapolis.

The getting acquainted process continues in L.A. and then the top-30 visit with a physical at Halas Hall.

It all seems a formality but no assumptions can be made in this rergard.

The personality and discussions are important. They mattered last year in the draft for many teams with Jalen Carter.

The next civil war will be what the Bears should do with the #9 pick. What do you guys want?

Trade down?
Best available defensive player?
Still go WR if Odunze or Nabers are there?

— DaWindyCity Productions (@dwcprodz) March 18, 2024

2. The Competition

With two quarterbacks viewed as the next two draft picks by many draft analysts, it's always possible either Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels could be players who have caught the attention of the Bears to a greater extent.

Daniels' athleticism and arm might be viewed as a different version of Fields' skills. Maye is called another Justin Herbert by draft analysts.

Maybe it's not even one of the three. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported last week at the Oregon pro day the Bears were heavily represented and Matt Eberflus was the only head coach in attendance. Were they watching Bo Nix? It's more likely center Jackson Powers-Johnson or tackle Taliese Fuaga had their eye, maybe even 6-foot-3, 283-pound edge player Brandon Dorlus. But the QB can't be discounted.

J.J. McCarthy has been all the rage since the combine and rose up on many mock drafts, if not NFL draft boards. He's from Chicago, LaGrange Park's Nazareth Academy for high school. It could even be him.

"Yeah, it's been one of my dreams of mine, whether I'm playing for the Bears or against them, but yeah, Soldier Field one of the oldest stadiums in America and just growing up and going to all the games and being part of a halftime thing where I was Player of the Week in Illinois," McCarthy recalled at the combine. "It's something that would be truly a dream come true."

He met with them at Indianapolis.

"Been great, formal interview, it was awesome watching tape with them going over our plays a little bit, and they got me up on the board to retain some information and we did pretty well," he said. "So it was awesome."

At the very least, the Bears are doing their due diligence in case something isn't right with Williams.

So here’s more context: That Bears contingent was also at Oregon State’s Pro Day on Monday. Beavers OT Taliese Fuaga could be a consideration at 9, and OC Shane Waldron and OL coach Chris Morgan were on hand for the workout.

It’s a pretty easy to trip to Eugene from there. https://t.co/g3P4B7gDch

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 13, 2024

3. The Temptation

Williams is viewed as a generational talent. However, the first pick in the draft remains worth so much. The fact the Bears can pick No. 1 testifies to this.

It's not one player. It's many.

They can set themselves up with a veritable fountain of talent by moving back.

Who knows what Washington is offering.

It was reported by Breer last week that the Giants talked to the Bears about trading out of the top spot. The Giants do have second- and third-round picks. The Bears lack a second-rounder this year.

It seems an unlikely move for the Bears because the Giants draft sixth, and if the Bears want Fields' replacement they'd miss out on the top three QBs there, possibly even McCarthy.

The number of picks for the future remains a huge point of interest.

Build a dominant team around solid QB instead of the best one in the draft is still an alternative even without Fields.

It should be apparent by now Matt Eberflus and Poles didn't think enough of Fields' abilities to keep him and trade down. Would they think this is a good option if they're picking a QB from options four through six in this draft?

Part of the temptation is how desperate other teams are for the first pick. Will Kliff Kingsbury talk Washington into a big offer to move up and pick his QB from USC last year? Would New England want to take a run at Williams? Are some of the QB-starved teams in the second 10, like the Raiders or Denver, willing to mortgage their future drafts?

4. Needs and Capability

Related directly to the temptations are Bears needs.

They got through the early part of free agency with untouched drastic needs. They'll have to find at least one more defensive end. They lost their starting 3-technique defensive tackle and haven't replaced him.

The centers they signed were graded middle of the pack by Pro Football Focus and a potential eventual starter could be a goal.

They still could use speed at receiver. Keenan Allen isn't exceptionally fast. He ran 4.58 in the 40 when he was young. DJ Moore ran 4.42, which is good speed. The Bears could use another breakaway threat who can deliver in the slot or outside.

It's going to be almost impossible to fill those needs adequately now because they're at less than $20 million in effective salary cap space.

5. Lack of Picks

The biggest reason they could trade back and go for a quarterback other than Williams is they can use the draft picks. They have only four now after the trades of the week, and none in Round 2 or after Round 4.

6. Attack of the Detractors

The anti-Williams movement started already. It's traditional to start chipping away at the abilities of the draft's top pick, especially if it's a quarterback.

Analysts started lining up last week to take their shots at Williams' abilities. It's only going to continue and who knows? Maybe the Bears agree with some of the criticism of Williams.

After all, the quarterback they just deposited in Pittsburgh took more time to get rid of the football than anyone in the league over the last three seasons and Williams was slower to get rid of te ball than he was last year according to Pro Football Focus.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven