LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Wide receiver DJ Moore had just left his exit interview with coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles when he entered the Chicago Bears’ locker room Monday morning at Halas Hall.
“My grade for the meeting? I give it an A-plus,” Moore said. “It was open and honest. I gave good feedback. They gave me their honest opinion on how my year went and everything. That’ll stay between us until it comes out later on and y’all see what happens. We’ll see.”
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Of course Justin Fields came up in the conversation.
And of course Moore offered his support for his quarterback.
“He’s the quarterback of the Chicago Bears until otherwise,” Moore said. “And I don’t think that’s changing anytime soon. We’ll see.”
The longer Moore talked, the better sense you got for what the Bears’ best player shared with his head coach and GM.
“Nobody really wants to start all the way over,” Moore said.
Then Moore mentioned Joe Burrow’s rookie season with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020 after he was drafted with the first selection. The Bengals went 2-7-1 in the games Burrow started during his rookie season. The Bengals’ offensive line struggled to protect Burrow, and he suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee in Week 11.
“You could have that kind of season,” Moore said. “You never know. It’s a hit or miss. We’re going to have to wait and see.”
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Owning the No. 1 pick in the draft for the second straight year provides the Bears brass with an amazing opportunity but also a potential dilemma. The locker room feels close to winning in 2024 and seemingly stands behind Fields.
But what if Poles’ scouting says to take USC’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye with the first pick? How much will short-term concerns cloud Poles’ long-term plans for the franchise?
Moore’s point about Burrow’s rookie season is valid, but the Bengals still made the right decision by drafting him. He became one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks by his second season. The Bengals not only advanced to the playoffs but also reached Super Bowl LVI, where they lost to the Los Angeles Rams.
Nothing spurs change more in the NFL than bad quarterback play. Coaches, coordinators and GMs get fired because of it every year.
Among qualified quarterbacks, Fields finished this season 24th in QBR, 22nd in passer rating, 29th in completion percentage, 23rd in passing yards per game and 26th in adjusted net yards per attempt. Fields’ EPA per pass play this season puts him in the same conversation as Kenny Pickett and Zach Wilson.
The hard data says to move on. It says that picking up Fields’ fifth-year option for 2025, which will be worth nearly $22 million, isn’t the right move. But it’s not that simple — not when Moore and others support Fields as much as they do.
Poles must take into account his team’s chemistry. One bad move could ruin the good vibes and momentum the team believes it built this season. Poles should remember that from last season when he traded linebacker Roquan Smith.
The Bears, though, have months to decide whether drafting Williams or Maye is a better move than keeping Fields and using the first pick to build around him. The intrigue itself will be a lingering storyline until that decision is reached.
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The short term starts with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. If Fields was discussed aplenty Monday, then so was Getsy. If the feedback from players is overwhelmingly negative, the Bears will have to make a change. Fields’ numbers are Getsy’s, too. He didn’t develop enough over two seasons with Getsy’s coaching.
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It wouldn’t be surprising if Eberflus and Poles asked Moore to expand on his comments from Sunday night in Green Bay, which came off as critical of Getsy’s play calling. But it also wouldn’t be surprising if some players, including longtime veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis and center Lucas Patrick, commended Getsy. NFL locker rooms are full of differing opinions on everything.
“He did a really good job,” Lewis said before mentioning their history together with the Green Bay Packers. “I just felt like Luke knows my play style, my skill set, where I’m best at — especially at this point in my career — and where I could be an asset to his offense and on this team.
“I just think from Week 1 to Week 18, I was just getting more and more playing time. And that means that if I’m in the game, we’re running the ball. Play-pass. We’re pounding the rock. We’re staying above the chains. And we’re playing the type of ball we want to play, right? I just felt like we kind of developed that.”
But when it comes to quarterback play and the future, some players should be listened to more than others. Neither Lewis nor Patrick is under contract for next season. Moore will definitely be back. He’s part of the Bears’ plans for 2024 and 2025.
On Monday, Moore also was asked why the Bears failed to maximize receiver Darnell Mooney’s talents this season.
“I don’t know,” he said. “First, you got to stay healthy, I guess. Other than that, I don’t know. You got to ask him that. How he felt he was used this year and everything. It’s a lot of different moving parts to that, so, I mean, it’s really hard to answer.”
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But Moore likely provided those details to Eberflus and Poles. Mooney probably did the same.
Honesty is what Eberflus and Poles wanted.
Here’s hoping they got it from plenty of players.
“When it comes out, whatever happens, happens, and maybe it’s what I said they do or not,” Moore said. “It’s really not up to me. But just to have a voice on it is pretty good.”
He said Eberflus and Poles were receptive. They even took notes.
“Who wouldn’t be receptive to me, you know what I’m saying?” Moore said. “I got this smile and everything.”
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(Top photo of Justin Fields: Jeff Hanisch / USA Today)
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