I think a lot of things can be true at once with Fields.
1) Ryan Poles might well have misplayed the market. If another team offered a 2nd or 3rd prior to going in another direction, and Poles turned it down, that’s a big red mark on his record. We don’t know that.
2) He certainly devalued Fields by saddling him with Eberflus and Getsy for…
I think a lot of things can be true at once with Fields.
1) Ryan Poles might well have misplayed the market. If another team offered a 2nd or 3rd prior to going in another direction, and Poles turned it down, that’s a big red mark on his record. We don’t know that.
2) He certainly devalued Fields by saddling him with Eberflus and Getsy for two years. Even working from the assumption that there was no scenario where Fields would have excelled enough to get them to pass up Caleb Williams, if he’d been better it’s entirely possible the trade market would have been significantly better. I blame him for that more than anything (and I think he has gone a long way down the path of ruining Williams already by retaining Eberflus).
3) I don’t think anyone is arguing that Poles “doing right by Fields” meant that he passed up a significantly bigger offer. It’s been reported that Fields thought Pittsburgh was a good landing spot for him and wanted to go there. Let’s say that there was another team interested in Fields and they were willing to give up a 6th this year, or a 5th next year that could turn into a 4th. Those would technically be better offers, but not significantly, and in that case I think it’s plausible for Poles to feel like the goodwill with other players and agents might be worth more than the difference between two late round picks.
I'm not a fan of Poles and my question is "what, if any, were the offers the Bears were getting before Mar 3, when Russell Wilson was released?" The two teams most frequently mentioned as trading partners in the offseason were Atlanta and Pittsburgh and the latter clearly had interest in bringing him in. A lot of talk about his trade value from league personnel before the combine was a third-rounder, which seems reasonable for a one-year look-see for a player of his raw talent.
To me, as soon as they hired Waldron as OC, whose previous stops as a passing game coordinator were with the Rams and Seahawks (three years of Goff and two years of Geno Smith), it was confirmed they were moving on from Fields. I understand that coaching hire hurting Fields' trade value, in addition to his work to date as a passer and slow development/improvement.
I also understand the Bears wanting something of at least moderate significance back for a player whose cap hit (just above $6 million) was the same whether he was on the roster or not (for about half the cash).
I couldn't stay for the podcast stream today, but wanted to ask how much Tepper is likely controlling things in Carolina. The one move Poles has made with the Bears that can't be questioned is the DJ Moore trade. And with what the Panthers have done this offseason, Poles making a positive move of that magnitude seems like an aberration compared to most of his record.
Dudes, dudes. Fields sucked. And if he does shockingly now somehow, some way get it together, he's immediately in line for beaucoup $$$, so there's practically no upside for a team that does give anything of value for him. And a GM who does give anything of value for him and Fields continues sucking, he's just about throwing his job away. "How could you give THAT! for Fields?!? Weren't you paying any attention for three full years?? Why in the world should we keep an idiot like you as our GM???"
I think a lot of things can be true at once with Fields.
1) Ryan Poles might well have misplayed the market. If another team offered a 2nd or 3rd prior to going in another direction, and Poles turned it down, that’s a big red mark on his record. We don’t know that.
2) He certainly devalued Fields by saddling him with Eberflus and Getsy for two years. Even working from the assumption that there was no scenario where Fields would have excelled enough to get them to pass up Caleb Williams, if he’d been better it’s entirely possible the trade market would have been significantly better. I blame him for that more than anything (and I think he has gone a long way down the path of ruining Williams already by retaining Eberflus).
3) I don’t think anyone is arguing that Poles “doing right by Fields” meant that he passed up a significantly bigger offer. It’s been reported that Fields thought Pittsburgh was a good landing spot for him and wanted to go there. Let’s say that there was another team interested in Fields and they were willing to give up a 6th this year, or a 5th next year that could turn into a 4th. Those would technically be better offers, but not significantly, and in that case I think it’s plausible for Poles to feel like the goodwill with other players and agents might be worth more than the difference between two late round picks.
I'm not a fan of Poles and my question is "what, if any, were the offers the Bears were getting before Mar 3, when Russell Wilson was released?" The two teams most frequently mentioned as trading partners in the offseason were Atlanta and Pittsburgh and the latter clearly had interest in bringing him in. A lot of talk about his trade value from league personnel before the combine was a third-rounder, which seems reasonable for a one-year look-see for a player of his raw talent.
To me, as soon as they hired Waldron as OC, whose previous stops as a passing game coordinator were with the Rams and Seahawks (three years of Goff and two years of Geno Smith), it was confirmed they were moving on from Fields. I understand that coaching hire hurting Fields' trade value, in addition to his work to date as a passer and slow development/improvement.
I also understand the Bears wanting something of at least moderate significance back for a player whose cap hit (just above $6 million) was the same whether he was on the roster or not (for about half the cash).
I couldn't stay for the podcast stream today, but wanted to ask how much Tepper is likely controlling things in Carolina. The one move Poles has made with the Bears that can't be questioned is the DJ Moore trade. And with what the Panthers have done this offseason, Poles making a positive move of that magnitude seems like an aberration compared to most of his record.
Dudes, dudes. Fields sucked. And if he does shockingly now somehow, some way get it together, he's immediately in line for beaucoup $$$, so there's practically no upside for a team that does give anything of value for him. And a GM who does give anything of value for him and Fields continues sucking, he's just about throwing his job away. "How could you give THAT! for Fields?!? Weren't you paying any attention for three full years?? Why in the world should we keep an idiot like you as our GM???"
Guys, say it with me.
Fields. Had. No. Value.