Andrew Buller-Russ
After finishing with the NFL’s worst record at 3-14, there was some outside thought that the Chicago Bears might consider a quarterback with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Well, the Bears never considered replacing Justin Fields this offseason.
With tempting alternatives such as Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, and Anthony Richardson sitting atop the draft board, some questioned whether the Bears would be tempted to ‘start over’ in a sense and send Fields packing for what likely would have been an impressive trade haul.
Instead, the Bears did the opposite, trading down from No. 1 to No. 9 while bringing in a former 1,000-yard receiver in D.J. Moore, supplying Fields with a stronger supporting cast.
Now, nearly a month after the dust has settled on the NFL draft, Fields is opening up about his mindset leading up to the player selection process, and he doesn’t sound like someone who was worried about his job security.
“No, not really. It’s awesome for me getting that trust from the coaching staff. You guys don’t see it, but we communicate here all the time, we trust each other fully. Just having them behind me, they know the kind of leader I am to my teammates. They know how great I want to be, the work I put in. It’s just great to have them behind my back for sure.”
QB Justin Fields on not being worried about Chicago Bears drafting his replacement
The Bears wound up selecting Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright with the tenth overall pick in an attempt to have better protection in place around their young, developing QB. We’ll see if it pays off soon enough, but there will always be that ‘what if’ question lurking in the minds of Bears fans should one of this year’s top QBs flourish.
Related: NFL QB Rankings: Updated with all 32 starters from Sam Howell to Patrick Mahomes
