Pixote

I always worry when we get someone cheap. Is he a bargain basement player or are we lucky and found a good player cheap? From the article I linked below, it seems Poles got a bargain. Good cap numbers for the next two years. Very athletic and has experience at all OL positions, but best suited for guard or center. Bears trade for Bills OL Ryan Bates 2 years after trying to sign him (May need PHX to do his work-around for theathetic.com. LOL)

Why is it odd?

I don't know the guy, but assuming he is a quality starter, it's good to have a solid backup for Center or Guard because we really don't have that on our current roster. So we still need, be it in the draft or FA, another quality option at the Center since it is almost guaranteed there will be injuries on the OL.

Man, you are so paranoid. I am not calling you out, criticizing your opinion, or questioning your intelligence. AND, I am not saying Fields is a great QB! What I AM SAYING is we have too much draft capital and time tied up with his development that we cannot afford to give him away for a third or fourth rounder. This year his trade value is limited. It's a great draft for QB hungry teams. Williams, Maye, Daniels, Nix, Penix, McCarty,etc... This year is a good year for FA QBs (if not tagged or resigned) with Wilson, Mayfield, Cousins, etc... Next year, from what I've been told, the draft sucks for QBs. Now, I assume the Bears will draft a QB this year. Who will they draft, hell, I have no idea. We all seem to feel that whoever we draft should sit for at least the first half of the season before starting. Instead of trying to start Bagent, or signing a back up to bridge the gap while waiting to start our rookie, why not keep Fields and start him? If he plays decent before being benched, with the poor selection of QB options available for QB hungry teams next year (there are always half a dozen or more teams needing a new QB), we could then trade him for possibly a 1st round pick instead of a 3rd or 4th. That to me is maximizing the value of your resources. That doesn't mean I think Fields is a GOAT. It means I am sick and tired of giving players away.

Don't count out the possibility that Poles thinks more of Fields than you do. If I remember correctly, you were quite confident that Flus would be fired at the end of the season. I love his new beard. ?

The Broncos may have just screwed the Bears. They just informed R Wilson he will be cut. He will still receive 39 Million in 2024 for guaranteed money from his contract. Any team needing a stop-gap quarterback could get Wilson without trading draft capital. Chances are, he would sign a relatively cheap one-year prove-it contract since he will still get the money from Denver. I am guessing that it will take one suitor for Fields out of the equation.

Saw this on NFL.com. It could be someone we would draft. It is a piece on players who excelled in the combine, this one on a Center out of Wisconsin, Tanor Bortolini:

I see an article on bearswire.usatoday promoting OC Andre James of the Raiders as a potential signing to help fix our OL. He's only 26 and from what I read was on the rise entering his prime years. Would this guy fit the bill if we pass on the Denver OC? Is anyone familiar with him? 2023 Stats: 963 snaps played, 4 sacks allowed, 3 penalties, 74.6 PFF grade (16 games)

I can understand the two QBs having different takes on the combine. The Bears may very well draft Williams; if not, whoever trades a King's ransom to get our #1 pick certainly will. So Caleb should be confident he will be the first pick in this year's draft and reap the rewards for such a distinction. On the other hand, Maye was once considered an equal to Caleb, but now some think Daniels will be the 2nd QB off the board, and several other QBs are moving up in round one. So I am sure Maye is concerned about being that guy sitting in the room with all of the other top-ranked players, waiting for his name to be called as he slides down the ladder.

Good Grief, I Sure Hope You Are Right! Question, does it matter if the QB has the quickest release of all 32 starting QBs if in turn he takes more time than any of the 32 starting QBs to decide who to throw to? Can the athleticism that allowed him to evade, like a magician, college defensive pass rushers to give him time to play hero ball, the vast majority of whom will never see an NFL field without buying a ticket, translate well against the likes of elite NFL sack demons? Or will he be another Fran Tarkenton (who never won a SB)? And yes, he played hero ball out of necessity. Habits are hard to break. Surely we have the QB guru to help him develop those amazing skills? That amazing athleticism. But let me ask one more question. How many times have we declared all our QB needed was a QB Whisperer to work with him in the offseason to correct mistakes in his footwork, arm motion, etc... And how many times did they fail? I guess I am a bit snake bit, ready for the next sure fire QB to wear a Bears Uni to disappoint us. All of that said, Again I say, I will be excited if we draft Williams so that he can prove my concerns were just that of an old Bears' fan who cannot shake the memories of seasons past.

The draft is heavy with amazing talent at WR. Draft one! The draft is crazy good with DL day-one starters. Draft one! There are very few rookie centers that can start day one. Chances are we will not be in a position to get one if we draft Caleb and don't trade down. That FA center from Denver might be big $$$, but it would be worth it to have him anchor the line while we develop a prospect. We CANNOT continue to allow defenses to kill our QB!

Sorry, I don't see the comparison between Marino's release and Caleb Williams. There are countless articles from some very reliable sources stating his release time was over 3 sec, which is JF all over again. Don't get me wrong. If we draft Caleb, I will be his biggest fan. I pray if we do draft him, we can get Odunze @ #9 That saying, we need to lock in the FA Center from Denver. We need a proven vet to anchor the line.

Just read this, but have no idea if the guy is blowing smoke. Does anyone know this guy from Sportskeeda, Tony Pauline? Hell, I haven't even heard of Sportskeeda. LOL

There are holdouts every year going into training camp. How long do they hold out? Does it affect their production in year one? The two reasons for these holdouts are normally, and I quote from an article I found" My concern is that if Caleb's father is as demanding as it has been reported, he may yet try to buck the system and screw things up by "unwisely" advising Caleb to hold out until his demands are met, reasonable or not. As an example, here is the list I found of rookies in 2023 who held out, not signing their contracts until after the start of training camp. I hope this is accurate, as it is a copy and paste of an article I found on profootballnetwork.com (It does state some of these players, although unsigned as training camps opened, many have signed when reporting.) Round 1 No. 1: Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers No. 2: C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans No. 4: Anthony Richardson, QB, Indianapolis Colts No. 5: Devon Witherspoon, CB, Seattle Seahawks No. 15: Will McDonald IV, EDGE, New York Jets No. 16: Christian Gonzalez, CB, New England Patriots Round 2 No. 32: Joey Porter Jr., CB, Pittsburgh Steelers No. 33: Will Levis, QB, Tennessee Titans No. 40: Isaiah Foskey, EDGE, New Orleans Saints No. 41: B.J. Ojulari, EDGE, Arizona Cardinals No. 42: Luke Musgrave, TE, Green Bay Packers No. 43: Joe Tippmann, C, New York Jets No. 44: Julius Brents, CB, Indianapolis Colts No. 45: Brian Branch, S, Detroit Lions No. 46: Keion White, EDGE, New England Patriots No. 47: Jartavius Martin, CB, Washington Commanders No. 48: Cody Mauch, G, Tampa Bay Buccaneers No. 50: Cam Smith, CB, Miami Dolphins No. 52: Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seattle Seahawks Round 4 No. 108: Blake Freeland, OL, Indianapolis Colts

Yep, you're right. My mistake.

I hope you're right. However, there are holdouts every year, some of them high draft picks, even with the slotted salary structure in place. Remember when Curtis Enis cried like a baby when drafted by the Bears in the first round, held out during training camp, and not signed until the last minute? If we draft Williams and his "Daddy" tells him to hold out because he wants to try to find a way to side-step the rules set forth by the NFLPA, that would suck big time.

Yes, I'm sure some are smoke screens set off by other GMs. Some is old news, such as his not wanting to be drafted by the Bears. A statement which he denies and no one has proven to be true. That one truly smells fishy. So, what did I find in this article that alarmed me? I knew college football players were now allowed to earn money from endorsements. I had heard that Caleb had quite a few in a major market. I didn't realize, and I believe this to be true, that he has made in the area of 10 million over the past three years. He doesn't have to drive around in the broken-down car Mitch was said to be driving around before being drafted. Couple that with the quote from Caleb's father stating that if things didn't work out (if they felt the situation was unacceptable), Caleb could refuse to play for the team that drafted him, sit out a year (return to college, and continue to make plenty of money), and reenter the draft next year (When the QB class appears to be much weaker). Now, some might say a player would never do that. You must be very young. Eli Manning was drafted by San Diego and refused to play for them, then was traded to NYG. I'm sure many fans of the Chargers hold a grudge against Eli. I myself was a young man when the Colts drafted John Elway (I grew up on the Eastern Shore, a huge Colts fan). Elway refused to play for the Colts, forcing a trade. Now, the Colts received a rookie LOT with a HOF career. Unfortunately, after Johnny Unitas retired, the Colts needed a franchise QB. To this day, I get pissed off every time I see Elway. With Caleb's father being so controversial, are we sure he won't encourage Caleb to sit out training camp, refusing to sign unless he gets everything he wants for his boy? If the team is unwilling or unable because of rules set by the NFL & NFLPA, to meet Carl's demands for Caleb, will Carl try to talk Caleb to sit out a year? I flat out do not know the answer to those questions. Do You?

I'll add this. I just listened to the Caleb Williams combine interview on NFL.com and was impressed. For a guy who has been known to skip out on interviews after his college games, he handled the questions given to him without hesitation, and I thought he aced the test.

Thanks for posting the link to the article. Old news? Really? I actually found most of this information new to me. I encourage everyone to read it. I'm not sure it tells us anything about Caleb. It indicates much about what his father will be like as his mentor. The question is, how much will Caleb listen to his father's unorthodox views of the NFL?

I just read an article on The Atlantic. I tried linking an article there before and it was a no go, as I am a subscriber, and the link would not work. Carl Williams is going to be a big problem. He not only questions having equity in the team that drafts Caleb, but it goes much further. He wants to know why his boy would have a cap on his earnings for four years, plus a fifth, then tags, potentially making his boy play for less than he's worth for as long as eight years. He wants to know why it is fair for the draft order to have reverse positioning because of the previous year's record. Why can['t he be drafted by a top contender instead of a team with a poor record? He rejects the idea of an approved agent because none of them he's talked to will tell him how to find a loophole in the rules. The agents are also leery of Carl. Then, I will give you one quote, I don't think The Atlantic would be pissed as it is a minor clip of a long article, but this really concerns me: Caleb has made over 10 million in college over the past 3 years with endorsements galore. He could easily afford an "Eli Manning or John Elway" move and refuse to play for the team that drafts him. He could just return to college; he is financially set to hold out if necessary.

I'm curious: where did you hear that Pitt offered a 2nd? I'm not doubting you; I just haven't seen anything on the net, and I have been floating around looking for info on the draft all day.

Crap. I miss read the post. I thought it was Justin and OUR 2nd from next year for Atlanta's 2024 first Rd pick. If you're saying, we get Atlanta's 2025 2nd in addition to their 2024 1st for Justin, Hell, yes! I'd love that trade.

I'd love to see JPJ as our center. We haven't had a solid starter at Center since Olin Kreutz.

Give up next year's 2nd, Hell No! Play hardball. Get top return or keep JF. I'm tired of the Bears giving away players in trades. Other teams get a King's bounty for players, we always seem to get crap.

Let's pray Kliff K. wants his man, Caleb, to return to DC. Obviously, he doesn't have the final say in the Commanders' draft room, but he can possibly convince the powers-to-be that they need to meet the demands of Poles to obtain the number one pick. I'd love to see, as a minimum return, 2024 #2 (where we draft Maye), 2024 2nd rd pk, 2025 1st rd pk, 2026 2nd rd pk. I think multiple teams will be bidding against each other, and there is a good chance the scenario I listed could be a lowball.