Bears fans, not quite the start of free agency you were all thinking?

Yes, the Chicago Bears extended Jaylon Johnson, which was a crucial move, but do they now have a starter center? Ryan Bates, the backup lineman, only getting traded? A back-up quarterback? And an outdated safety (but a reliable one)?

Even so, it’s not the aspect about which Bears supporters worry the most on average.

We’ve been told all summer to watch for the NFL Combine or the start of free agency as the magical moment when the Bears would acquire Justin Fields and firmly commit to the quarterback position going forward. Everyone who knows the league and has connections would tell you that this isn’t really a decision at all.

Why, therefore, has it not been produced yet (formally, at least)?

After all the teams we thought would be a good fit for Justin Field—Atlanta, Pittsburgh, even Minnesota—signed quarterbacks in free agency, why is he still a Chicago Bear?

Is it truly true that no one desires him?

Though the outcome may seem relatively inevitable, the situation as it stands right now is a little more nuanced than that.

Caleb Williams messed up the timeline

No one is yet suggesting Williams’ team’s decision to delay his post-Combine meeting with the Bears has changed their feelings about him in any way. But it has likely delayed absolute certainty on the Bears’ part to take him.

Of course, the Bears don’t need to watch Williams throw during his USC Pro Day. He’s thrown the football more times than they can count.

The date is January 14, 2012. We are in San Francisco at Candlestick Park. The 49ers need a touchdown with 14 seconds remaining, down three, and facing a third down to maintain their hopes of making the playoffs without having to go to OT. In the meantime, the Saints can draw a conclusion from this and move on to the NFC Championship Game. We need to look back in time to comprehend how we got here and to fully appreciate what this moment signifies.

However, they do require access to his medical records, which he has decided to distribute to teams one-on-one when they meet. It’s just being diligent, not that we should expect something to be wrong with him.

Naturally, Williams and his team will meet with the Bears to discuss the next steps, giving Williams one more opportunity to remove himself from the impression that the public had of him before to the NFL Combine. We should see things pick up steam after that meeting later this month. Which gets us to the following:

The Bears are NOT just giving Justin Fields away — yet

1. It’s possible that the Bears aren’t contacting teams about Fields as frequently as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport claims. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t consider trading him in the event of a strong offer.

   Nevertheless, why would you expect Ryan Poles to be any different when it comes to deals if you believe he is intransigent about his assessments of players available for free? Poles has most likely requested from teams a deal involving Fields that would yield a starter-level return, whatever that means. The league also refuses to comply for a number of reasons.Why not wait Chicago out for a better price if you know they’re going to trade him anyway?

2. Why commit draft capital to Fields now when you might have a shot at a quarterback you like in the draft? (For example: the Raiders didn’t choose Gardner Minshew over Fields. They choose Minshew and a possible shot at JJ McCarthy or another rookie over Fields.)
3. If you’re Ryan Poles, why take a lowball offer before you have to and before you’re 10,000% sold on your future direction (which Poles apparently is not yet)?

The Bears packing Fields to go from No. 9 to No. 6 or something might even make this come down to draft night. Nothing indicates that a deal won’t occur just because it isn’t happening right now. But you must think Poles is a moron if you believed the Bears were really just going to ship Fields out for a sixth-round pick, like the Patriots did to Mac Jones (who was completely unusable last year), or some 2025 conditional pick more than a month before the draft.