Today is the day we’ve been waiting for since the NFL regular season ended. It’s NFL Draft Day! The Chicago Bears have the first pick. Unless something unexpected happens, it’ll be USC quarterback Caleb Williams getting the nod. Now that we’ve saved you some time, you should check out this authentic Detroit Style Pizza recipe from my friend Jim. I’ve had it before and am looking forward to the next time he whips one up for me. And with the draft being in Detroit, it makes sense that this pie is on our mind.
In quiet moments as a Bears fan, you might wonder how we even got here in the first place. Let’s discuss…
Written on Oct. 20, 2023, this post came with the title It’s Really Starting to Sound Like the Bears Will Draft a QB in the First Round of the 2024 NFL Draft. I wish I would’ve shortened the title, but I needed to lay it out like that because it was our first inclination that the team would move off of Justin Fields. It felt like the tides were shifting at the time. Six months later, and it turns out those hunches were correct.
The Bears were 1-5 at the time and Justin Fields had just suffered an injury against the Minnesota Vikings. Even when he was healthy, he was playing an inconsistent and frustrating type of football. Fields had 11 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a 91.6 passer rating. He was on pace to post 3,403 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, 17 interceptions, 672 rushing yards, and 3 ground scores. But the injury against Minnesota knocked him out for four games. And in the seven games after his return, Fields threw for just 5 touchdowns in 3 interceptions to go along with an 82.2 rating. It was good, but not good enough.
At the end of the day, Fields’ injury history, inconsistent play, and the opportunity of a lifetime to get the No. 1 pick because of the Carolina Panthers’ putrid play led us to this point where the Bears are going to draft a new QB and usher in a new era of Bears football. Here’s hoping it is better than any era that came before it.
As for Fields, Pittsburgh won’t pick up the fifth-year option (h/t Adam Schefter) on JF1’s rookie deal. But the Steelers QB has a chance to play his way into a new deal with some team down the line. Because if Sam Darnold and Mitchell Trubisky can get a new lease on a new life as a football starter, then Fields should be able to do the same. And if he shows the Steelers that he is The Dude and plays enough snaps, the sixth-round pick in 2025 Pittsburgh sent to Chicago will become a fourth-rounder. So at least Bears fans who still want to root on Justin Fields have that going for them in 2024.
From 1993 (the first year of the post-dinka era) to 2017, the Chicago Bears used first-round picks on quarterbacks just twice — Cade McNown in 1999 and Rex Grossman in 2003. Since launching as BN Bears (and previously as TYL), Caleb Williams will represent our third different first-round draft pick quarterback we’ve covered as a site. That fun fact just blows my mind.
I took a shot at mocking the mock drafts:
Death. Taxes. And a quarterback with weird food tastes (and probably worse food takes) going higher than you might otherwise expect. Those are life’s three guarantees.
It was interesting to see how others reacted to the Bears new proposed stadium plan. But this was my favorite:
This tweet from Zack Pearson gave me an idea…
… maybe the Bears can ask Taylor Swift to pay for the new stadium. Hey, it can’t hurt to ask! And we know she has the money. Plus, we know she’ll sell out the joint. Maybe throw in a please while you’re at it.
Not Bears-y, but still notable: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson has requested a trade. The three-time Pro Bowler has put up 39.5 sacks in 48 games since signing with the Bengals in free agency in 2021. Between Hendrickson and Tee Higgins, Cincy has some contractual situations to clean up in house. I wonder if they’ll reach out to teams and use those players to trade for draft picks who the Bengals can start from the get-go. Stay tuned.
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The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros on Wednesday to clinch a series win. They got some bad news with Cody Bellinger going to the injured list. But at least they’ve got top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong waiting in the wings.
On the other side of town, it has become impossible to not comment on the Chicago White Sox making history in the most futile ways possible. They’re 3-21 for crying out loud. Roughly, this is the equivalent of a 2-15 season in football — except there are still 138 games left. Yikes!
I’m looking forward to the Angel Reese era:
Chicago Blackhawks players on learning from losses and the desire to win. (BN Blackhawks)
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