NFL players are just like the rest of us. If you’re sick of the never-ending Chicago Bears quarterback debates, the heated Justin Fields versus Caleb Williams debates that have persisted throughout the early stages of this offseason, you’re in good company. In fields. The soon-to-be 25-year-old quarterback clarified his role in this week’s biggest sports social media mystery during an appearance on the 33rd Team’s “St. Brown Bros Podcast,” explaining why he no longer follows the Bears’ Instagram account. Fields claimed his motivation was not as passive-aggressive or sinister as many imagined.
“Man, bro, I’m glad we’re talking about it,” Fields said to podcast hosts and NFL players Amon-Ra St. Brown and Equanimeous St. Brown. “Why do people take social media so seriously? Like, just because I unfollow this and that … I still mess with the Bears, this and that. I’m just trying to take a little break.”
So why exactly did he recently unfollow the Bears account at a time when his future with the team is being discussed so frequently? Fields explained that he has plans to travel to Amsterdam and Milan for a getaway and simply wanted a timeline cleanse. “I unfollowed the Bears and the NFL, bro,” he said. “I’m just trying to not have football on my timeline. … It’s something I don’t want to see on my timeline. I’m about to go on vacation. I don’t want to see no football. Every Bears post it’s either, ‘Keep Fields. We want Fields.’ Or ‘Draft Caleb.’ It’s like, bro, man, I’m tired of hearing the talk.”
On that, Fields is hardly alone.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles will have to make a huge choice in the coming weeks about what to do at quarterback, whether he keep Fields for his fourth season in Chicago or to go in a different approach by drafting a quarterback and possibly trading away his current starter.
“I just want it to be over,” he explained. “Please let me know if I’m being exchanged. Please let me know whether I’ll be staying. That response will arrive in due time. The NFL scouting combine begins next week, and speculation over Fields’ future and the Bears’ quarterback decision will only increase. The NFL’s new league year, which allows transactions to become official, is now less than three weeks away. The draft is set for late April.
If Fields had to make his own decisions, he claimed he would stay at Halas Hall and continue his career with the Bears. “I can’t see myself playing in another place,” he told me. “But I know how the league works… If it were up to me, I’d choose to stay in Chicago. I adore the city. The city is lighted. The fans are fantastic, as are the people. But this is a business. I have no control over it. So whatever happens occurs.” Okay, fair enough. Wherever Fields plays in 2024, he has voiced one clear ambition for his fourth season.
