Ryan Poles Showed He's A Players GM By Granting Justin Fields' Request To Be Traded To Pittsburgh
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Gotta hand it to Ryan Poles. At first I was shocked to see he let Justin Fields go for pennies (6th round pick in 2025 that could be a 4th if Fields played 51% of games) instead of waiting for draft day or even later when injuries are sure to foil plan-A for at least one out of 31 other teams. Instead Poles literally stuck to what he said and chose to do right by Justin.
I don't know that I've ever heard of the term "Players GM", but I think I'm going to give Poles that honor at this point. Sure, it's likely he could probably have gotten more from one of the other four teams that were in the mix. Probably nothing substantial, but I love the move to show a player like Justin the respect he deserves in honoring his wish.
Even if he could have gotten a bit more juice out of the squeeze, this could be seen as a bit of a loss leader play that ends up benefiting the Bears in the long run. Think about it. If "Player Coaches" earn reputations that make top players want to play for them, why can't a Player GM? Chess, not checkers. Players talk - especially this day in age.
The only question now is who were the other four teams? I know Philly was in the mix, but my assumption was Poles' price was probably higher considering they are an NFC top contender. I could see Justin not wanting to be firmly stuck as the #2 there so that makes sense. I think Carolina was another. Here's the thing. I just assume David Tepper was out partying on Patty's day weekend and the right amount of buzzed to want to out-alpha Ryan Poles for what he did to him. Does Carolina bringing in Fields make any football sense? Not at all. And that's why I think it happened.
Anyway, this was nice to see. It sucks how much the Bears completely destroyed any chance of Justin developing properly but at least they are sending him to a place where he will have a real second chance whether in 2024 or 2025. I say the Steelers get sick of Wilson by Week 6.
But for us Bears fans, we can finally turn our heads to the future and get excited as all hell for it. We are going to have the best wide receiver duo in the league with the best #1 overall quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck. Not to mention a top 10 defense. Ryan Poles is a miracle. And one that's proven is worth rooting for.
Bear Down.