Ryan Poles effectively turned a new chapter for the Bears after the NFL combine, when he traded the No. 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers for future draft assets and wide receiver DJ Moore.
The result of that trade isn't near proper evaluation. But the Bears' general manager reflected on that process with Rich Eisen on his show.
"We had to take our time with that decision," Poles said. "You never want to be in that spot, but opportunities can present themselves to improve your football team. We just needed to figure out how we wanted to do that."
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The first step in that elongated process, as Poles characterized, is taking a look at the whole 2023 NFL draft class.
Can they make use of the No. 1 pick themselves? Are there quarterbacks out there who could better serve the Bears as opposed to Justin Fields?
Poles and the front office did their due diligence. They looked at all the top-tier quarterbacks and gathered information. But they came to a loyal decision.
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"We went through the whole process," Poles said. "We had to look at all of the quarterbacks and kind of see how can we impact our team in the biggest way. And I was really encouraged by the way Justin played, in terms of making plays. I'm excited to see him take that next step as a passer."
Fields, as Poles alluded, has room to grow as a quarterback.
He rushed for 1,143 yards last season, marking one of the most historic rushing seasons for a quarterback in NFL history. Though, his skills as a passer are inarguably limited from his first two seasons in the NFL.
Fields has been ridiculed for being indecisive, holding the ball too long and being an inaccurate passer. His career completion percentage is below 60 percent and he's fumbled, been sacked or intercepted 140 times over the first two seasons of his career -- the most of any signal caller during that same time frame.
Hopefully, with the help of Moore and an overall improved roster in seemingly every facet, Fields can thrive in 2023.
"There were a lot of different scenarios but that was one (trading for Moore) I was convicted about, for sure," Poles said. "It's well-documented that it was really hard for Carolina. But I was excited to get him in the building.
"And I'll tell you what, if you're at training camp, you see the plays that he's making and the chemistry he and Justin have built so far, you gotta be excited for what it's gonna look like."