Ryan Poles Appears Sold on Justin Fields

Bears GM says he would have to be "blown away" to consider drafting a passer at No. 1 with Justin Fields as his quarterback following the 2022 season.

Bears GM Ryan Poles made very little pretense Tuesday regarding his respect for Justin Fields.

If Poles is going to give up on Fields and draft another QB first overall, it's going to take someone of extraordinary ability.

"We're gonna do the same as we've always done," Poles said. "We're gonna evaluate the draft class, and I would say this: I would have to be absolutely blown away to make that type of decision."

Poles said "yes," when asked if Fields would be starter next season. As a result of Fields' improvement over the 2022 season, the Bears have flexibility in terms of trading back or taking someone with the first pick. 

They aren't being driven in the draft or free agency by a need at quarterback like many other teams.

"I think it goes back to what I said about flexibility," Poles said. "We can evaluate the talent there, we can see what player presents themselves in that position to help us, and then we can look at the scenarios. If the phones go off and there are certain situations where that can help us, then we'll go down that avenue too.

"I think we have really good flexibility to help this team, regardless if it's making the pick there or moving back a little bit or moving back a lot. We'll be open to everything."

Poles was wowed by Fields beginning with about the middle of the season, although he admitted the passing still must improve in several ways.

"I thought Justin did a good job," Poles said. "I thought we changed a lot, we adapted, we tried to put him in a position to be successful. He showed the ability to be a playmaker, be impactful. He can change games quickly.

"Does he have room to grow? He does. He has to get better as a passer, and I'm excited to see him take those steps as we move forward."

Poles said all conversations about Fields have been positive.

"We had good conversations," he said. "I'm excited for the direction he's going. As I mentioned before, he knows where he has to improve. I think he mentioned that the other day.

"We're excited about his development and where he goes next. He showed ability to be impactful with his legs. There's flashes with his arm. Now if we can put that together, I think we have something really good."

The Bears have won only five of Fields' 25 starts at quarterback. He improved from seven touchdown passes to 17 this year and had only one more interception (11) than last year with 48 more throws. His passer rating climbed from 73.2 to 85.2 and his yards per attempt from 6.9 to 7.1. He also had a 1.5% better completion percentage (60.4%) this season.

As a runner, he led the Bears in rushing with 1,143 yards on 160 carries, the second-highest total ever for a quarterback behind only Lamar Jackson (1,206).

His passing numbers looked much better before a debacle in Detroit when he went 7 of 21 for only 75 yards before being benched for the finald due to a season-ending hip injury.

"It was, like, midseason when he really started to go off with his legs, create explosive plays," Poles said.

It wasn't all runs that burned a spot in Poles' memory.

"You think of plays like the shot to (Darnell) Mooney, the shot to (Dante) Pettis in the corner of the end zone—I think that was Washington," Poles said. "Those deep ball throws that we know he can make."

Frequently cited as a Fields weakness is the short or medium passing game, and Poles acknowledged this.

"Now it's just closing the gap and being consistent with it," he said. "And again, the beautiful thing about football is you can never point at one person and say, 'It's his fault.' No, it's a collective where everything's gotta work together.

"I know and we know if we continue to grow this football team and bring in a lot of good players, that everyone's going to get better collectively."

Poles expressed certainty Fields will make every effort to improve as a passer based on his work ethic.

"Resilient, a guy that has ownership," Eberflus said. "He has growth mindset. The amount of time that he put in with the coaches to continue to get better, the guy is hungry to be successful in this league."

To improve the current weaknesses will require some change on the part of the Bears and not just Fields.

"As a passer, just for things to slow down mentally, and then be able to react and anticipate quicker," Poles said. "Obviously with that, we also have to continue to build around him so that he can do that consistently, as well."

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