LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Wide receiver DJ Moore had just left his farewell interview with coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles when he entered the Chicago Bears' locker room at Halas Hall on Monday morning.
“My grade for the meeting? I give him an A-plus,” Moore said. “It was open and honest. I gave good feedback. They gave me their honest opinion about how my year went and everything. This will stay between us until it comes out later and you all will see what happens. We will see.”
Of course, Justin Fields also came into the conversation.
And of course, Moore offered his support to his quarterback.
“He’s the quarterback of the Chicago Bears for now,” Moore said. “And I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon. We will see.”
The longer Moore talked, the more you got a feel for what the Bears' best player was telling his head coach and GM.
“Nobody really wants to start over,” Moore said.
Moore then mentioned Joe Burrow's rookie season with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020 after he was drafted with the first pick. The Bengals posted a 2-7-1 record in games Burrow started during his rookie season. The Bengals' offensive line struggled to protect Burrow, and he suffered a torn ACL and ACL in his left knee in Week 11.
“You could have a season like that,” Moore said. “You never know. It's a fluke. We'll have to wait and see.”
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Being the No. 1 pick in the draft for the second year in a row presents the Bears with a great opportunity, but also a potential dilemma. The locker room appears to be on the verge of winning in 2024 and appears to be behind Fields.
But what if Poland's scouting says USC's Caleb Williams or North Carolina's Drake Maye should be the first choice? How much will short-term concerns cloud the 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 selecting him. In his second season he became one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Not only did the Bengals make the playoffs, but they also reached Super Bowl LVI, where they lost to the Los Angeles Rams.
Nothing drives change in the NFL more than poor quarterback play. Coaches, coordinators and GMs are fired every year because of this.
Among qualified quarterbacks this season, Fields ranked 24th in QBR, 22nd in passer rating, 29th in completion percentage, 23rd in passing yards per game and 26th in the adjusted net yards per attempt. Fields' EPA per pass game this season puts him in the same discussion as Kenny Pickett and Zach Wilson.
The hard data suggests moving forward. It says that picking up Fields' five-year option for 2025, which will be worth nearly $22 million, is not the right move. But it's not that simple – not when Moore and others support Fields as much as they do.
The way teammates like Lucas Patrick (left) feel about Justin Fields could be a factor in evaluating the Bears. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The Pole has to take his team's chemistry into account. One bad move could ruin the good vibes and momentum the team thinks they've built this season. The Poles should remember this from last season when he traded linebacker Roquan Smith.
However, the Bears have months to decide whether signing Williams or Maye is better than keeping Fields and using the first pick to build around him. The intrigue itself will be an ongoing storyline until that decision is made.
The short term starts with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. If there was a lot of talk about Fields on Monday, there was also a lot of talk about Getsy. If player feedback is overwhelmingly negative, the Bears need to make a change. Fields' numbers are also from Getsy. With Getsy's coaching, he didn't develop enough in two seasons.
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It wouldn't be surprising if Eberflus and Poles asked Moore to elaborate on his comments from Sunday night in Green Bay, which came across as critical of Getsy's play call. But it also wouldn't be surprising if some players, including veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis and center Lucas Patrick, praised Getsy. There are different opinions on everything in the NFL locker room.
“He did a really good job,” Lewis said before mentioning their shared history with the Green Bay Packers. “I just felt like Luke knew my style of play and my abilities, knew where I was best – 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 got more and more playing time. And that means: When I'm in the game, we have the ball under control. Game pass. We hammer the stone. We stay above the chains. And we play the 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 have a contract for next season. Moore will definitely be back. He is part of the Bears' plans for 2024 and 2025.
On Monday, Moore was also asked why the Bears have failed to maximize the talents of receiver Darnell Mooney this season.
“I don’t know,” he said. “First you have to stay healthy, I guess. Otherwise I don't know. You have to ask him that. How he felt exploited this year and so on. It’s a lot of different moving parts, so it’s really hard to answer.”
But Moore probably passed these details on to Eberflus and Poles. Mooney probably did the same thing.
Honesty was what Eberflus and the Poles wanted.
We hope they got it from many players.
“If it gets out, whatever happens, and maybe it’s what I said or it’s not,” Moore said. “It's really not my fault. But just having a voice in it is pretty good.”
He said Eberflus and the Poles were open-minded. They even took notes.
“Who wouldn't be receptive to me, you know what I mean?” Moore said. “I got that smile and everything.”
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(Top photo of Justin Fields: Jeff Hanisch / USA Today)
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