Without a doubt, one of the most significant decisions the Bears will have to make this offseason is whether or not they will choose to keep or move on from Justin Fields.
That decision will come. Rest assured, the Bears will not finalize that decision until after the season.
"The decisions haven't been made and those are waiting until the end of the year when everything's finalized," Matt Eberflus said during a conversation with ESPN 1000 on Tuesday. "Again, our focus is on Atlanta. We've got a big challenge this week against Atlanta."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Eberflus said he and Ryan Poles will sit down with every player at the end of the season. They will grade their performance and gauge their ratings of other departments in the building.
This shouldn't come as a surprise. The Bears don't make significant decisions in-season. Remember, they've never fired a head coach in-season. Why should they make that decision now? There are still two games left for Fields to put more bullet points on his résumé.
What's more, Eberflus isn't the person to decide on Fields' future. That's up to Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren. The head coach has a say, but in the end, that decision will be left to the guys upstairs. Still, that decision, obviously, won't be made with two games to go.
Bears News
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it after the season. We'll look at all of those things as we do every single year. We'll evaluate everything from A to Z within the program," Eberflus said.
Fields has given the Bears plenty to think about after this season.
Through 36 starts with the Bears, Fields has shown a lot. But he's also shown he has a long road to go before he can be considered an elite quarterback. His playmaking and rushing ability are all but proven. But his passing abilities are still a work in development.
Do the Bears believe together they can make him into the franchise quarterback they've long been waiting for?
Remember, the Bears currently have the rights to the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft by way of owning the Panthers' first-round draft pick. Their league-worst record sits them atop the draft order. The Bears could opt to take a quarterback with that top pick.
With two games to go, the Bears are currently satisfied with Fields and his effort.
"He's been great. He's a true pro," Eberflus said of Fields. "He's one of our hardest workers and he's one of our toughest players. He continues to just stay where his feet are and focus on one day at a time and improving every single week."