The Chicago Bears are in a position with quarterback Justin Fields that is enviable and wretched simultaneously.

Chicago is all but a lock to acquire the No. 1 or No. 2 pick from the Carolina Panthers after the Green Bay Packers eked out a win over the NFL’s worst team in Week 15, which means the Bears are all but guaranteed the opportunity to draft one of this year’s two so-called “can’t miss” QB prospects — Caleb Williams of USC or Drake Maye of North Carolina.

But DJ Moore doesn’t see reason for Chicago to move on from Fields. The star wide receiver gave voice to that opinion on the Tuesday, December 26 edition of the “Mully & Haugh Show.”

“I really don’t see why anything would change,” Moore said. “Most people love Justin here. Look at what he’s done. He’s grown every year. He [has] had [two] different offensive coordinators. … Even throughout this year, you can see his growth.”

Justin Fields’ Accuracy Has Improved in 2023, Can Continue to Do So

Justin Fields, Bears
GettyQuarterback Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears.

The hosts of the show pressed Moore on Fields’ accuracy concerns, which the wide receiver chalked up to a lack of offensive continuity over the QB’s three-year career. Moore added that Fields’ intermittent accuracy issues don’t constitute an unfixable problem.

“You can improve it,” Moore responded. “It comes with working on timing and being with the same group of guys throughout the course of the season or the years that you are together. Because once you improve the timing, everybody knows where the one-two-three reads are going to be, and he can expect them to be exactly at that depth at the right time.”

Fields has produced a career-high completion percentage in 2023 of 60.9% on 322 attempts across 11 games played, per Pro Football Reference. He has already thrown more this season than he did in 15 games last year, amassing 2,146 yards and 15 touchdowns against 9 interceptions.

The quarterback remains among the most significant rushing threats at the position in the NFL, gaining 585 yards and scoring 3 TDs on 5.6 yards per attempt.

Caleb Williams May Offer Too Much Promise for Bears to Pass Up

UCLA vs USC Live Stream
GettyQuarterback Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans.

So to summarize — Moore thinks his QB should stick around next season and, if he’s right, so do the majority of Bears fans. The notion that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush is an old cliché for a reason, after all.

But it isn’t that simple.

Respected NFL analysts like Bill Barnwell and Dominique Foxworth have offered Fields’ praise over the last several weeks but continue to contend that Chicago simply can’t pass up the opportunity to select a quarterback with the No. 1 pick two years in a row — especially not considering the talent at the top of the 2024 draft.

Even despite a down year in the win/loss column at USC, Williams continues to garner hype like no collegiate-signal caller in years, catching player comps to Hall-of-Fame locks like Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers.

The Bears passed up the chance to draft CJ Stroud in 2023, who is likely to win Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and was a legitimate candidate in the MVP race as a rookie before suffering a concussion that has sidelined him for multiple games.

General manager Ryan Poles has made a misstep or two — trading a high second-round pick for wide receiver Chase Claypool last season serving as the chief example — but he’s built a team that is two fourth-quarter collapses in the last five weeks from an 8-7 record and legitimate playoff contention.

Ryan Poles’ Choice on Future of QB Position Will Define His Bears Tenure

Ryan Poles, Bears
GettyGeneral manager Ryan Poles of the Chicago Bears.

The decision of whether to move on from Fields and reset the quarterback clock in Chicago, which offers major financial advantages for years to come, or to stick with a clearly talented player in FIelds who is improving must be an agonizing one for Poles.

But that’s why the organization pays its GM like it does.

The wrong choice is liable to cost Poles his job sooner than later, and the self-interest of decision-makers will always play a role in the franchise-altering moves teams make — or don’t. The best-case scenario for Poles is that either decision turns out to be more or less correct, and the Bears find success in 2024 and beyond. But that’s no guarantee.

Whichever way Chicago goes at quarterback, there will be those who applaud the move and those who doubt it loudly. The Bears’ top wide receiver figures to fall entirely into the latter category.