NFL Rumors: Ryan Poles future, Cowboys familiar face, Panthers punished

NFL Rumors: Ryan Poles' Bears future could be decided by what he does with first overall pick

The Chicago Bears find themselves in a similar situation to the one they were in last season. Chicago had the No. 1 pick in their possession but also had a young quarterback with potential, Justin Fields, already on their roster. Fields had shown enough in the eyes of GM Ryan Poles for the Bears to trade the number one pick to Carolina in exchange for a monster haul. Part of that haul netted them the 2024 Panthers first-round pick, which has turned out to be No. 1 overall. The Bears struck gold.

Whether Chicago regrets choosing Fields and the other assets over one of Young or Stroud is irrelevant now, but is something Poles is going to have to ponder heading into this offseason. The Bears have done better in 2023-24, winning seven games, and Fields has looked better as well, but the question is, do they give Fields another go or do they take a guy like Caleb Williams or Drake Maye?

The Bears have historically struggled to find their franchise quarterback. Sticking with a guy like Fields who has potential and has shown improvements makes sense, but what is his ceiling? The Bears have had a nice year, but are still a sub-.500 team. Is Fields really the guy who takes them to a Super Bowl?

While the Bears would be passing up on a massive amount of assets by keeping the first-overall pick, they could decide one of Williams or Maye has the potential to get them where they really want to go, a Super Bowl. If the Bears decide one of those guys can help them get to a Super Bowl, it's very possible we see Chicago trade Fields.

This could easily be the decision that determines Ryan Poles' future. Assuming he gets to make this choice, whatever he decides could be what determines how long he stays in Chicago. As ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Courtney Cronin say, "The choice between Fields and the unknown could shape the organization for the next decade or more."