Caleb Williams to Bears a Lock After Justin Fields Trade

Now that Fields has finally been traded, it's clear the Bears already have their sights set on a new franchise quarterback.

Luke Easterling | Mar 16, 2024

Caleb Williams to Bears a Lock After Justin Fields Trade /

After an offseason full of debate, the answer we all knew was coming has finally been delivered by the Chicago Bears.

Sunday's trade sending quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers confirmed what pretty much everybody already knew, that the Bears will be spending the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft on USC's Caleb Williams.

Fields showed flashes of lofty potential over the past three seasons after the Bears traded up to land him in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft, but not enough to keep Chicago from spending this year's top pick (acquired from Carolina prior to last year's draft) on a rare talent in Williams.

So, while Fields is off to compete with Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh, the Bears will now focus on building a winner around Williams, a process which has already started with an active offseason full of key acquisitions.

A new era is all but officially here for the Bears, with Williams as the new face of the franchise.

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Published Mar 16, 2024

LUKE EASTERLING

Luke Easterling (he/him) has been covering college football and the NFL for more than two decades, with a particular focus on the nexus of both, the NFL Draft. Writing for some of the largest and most recognizable brands in sports media, Luke's experience and expertise in evaluating potential NFL prospects and evaluating team needs/fits has earned the appreciation of his readers, and the respect of his peers. Luke cut his sports journalism teeth at The Tampa Tribune before spending two years at Bleacher Report as a featured columnist covering the NFL Draft and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Luke then spent nearly seven years at USA TODAY Sports Media Group as editor of Draft Wire and Bucs Wire, building both into authoritative destination sites for their respective audiences. Now at The Arena Group, Luke covers the NFL and college football for Athlon Sports, and runs Sports Illustrated's FanNation site for the NFL Draft. A graduate of the University of South Florida, Luke has been a featured guest on ESPN Radio, CBS Sports Radio, Fox Sports Radio, SiriusXM and more. Based in Tampa, Florida (the true home of the Cuban sandwich), Luke plays the drums, loves 2000s pop-punk, watches way too many British murder mystery shows, and channels the energy of his deep-south Grammy and his full-Italian Nana in the kitchen. Twitter: @lukeeasterling Email: luke.easterling@si.com