Bears news: Justin Fields trade believed to still be on the table

With the 2023 NFL Draft a few months away, the league holds its breath in anticipation of what the Chicago Bears will choose to do with the No. 1 overall pick.

The Chicago Bears hold the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. They also have 2021 first-rounder Justin Fields, who took a significant leap in Year 2. Herein lies the conundrum of the offseason for the Bears, whose next move could define the franchise for years to come.

No pressure.

Trade rumors surrounding Fields have actually increased after the 2022 season which saw the young quarterback throw for 2,200-plus yards and complete 60.4 percent of his passes. When the Bears somehow found themselves holding the No. 1 pick (thanks a lot, Houston), Fields’ future with the franchise immediately darkened.

It doesn’t matter that Fields broke rushing records or that he injected life into the Bears’ anemic passing game. Chicago general manager Ryan Poles publicly backed Fields in January declaring that Fields would be the team’s starting quarterback in 2023, but from now until the draft is a very gray area, a Twilight Zone-esque limbo period known as the “Everybody is lying” part of the offseason.

There’s smoke, there’s mirrors, and there’s the overwhelming feeling of not knowing what to believe.

A Bears’ Justin Fields trade has as much a chance of happening as it doesn’t — piece that one out

Poles reinstated his confidence in Fields a month ago, yet he also holds the shining golden ticket in the league that is the first overall draft pick. As any shrewd general manager would, Poles will likely try to drive up the price of this pick for interested suitors, and tweets like this only help his case:

Behold, an NFL reporter not named Adam Schefter or Ian Rapoport implanting the idea of a Justin Fields trade in every team’s GM’s head. Jason LaCanfora’s sources are sketchy at best, and it’s worth noting that LaCanfora, a Baltimore native, was ostracized from the Baltimore Ravens media community and now floats around the league spreading suspect reports.

In truth, no one knows what’s going on behind the Bears’ closed doors other than the members of the Bears franchise themselves. For the next several months, quietly disseminating tweets like LaCanfora’s serves in Chicago’s best interest regarding a Justin Fields trade, which may or may not happen, or a No. 1 pick trade, which may or may not happen. Someone may know something, and he may tell someone to do something or perhaps something else, but nothing is for sure and everything is unknown.

Welcome to the pre-NFL draft.