Kevin Warren's recent comments about Justin Fields raised some eyebrows
I know, admire, and like Bears president/CEO Kevin Warren. He will do a fine job in the position he acquired last year.
That said, something he said last week raised some eyebrows in league circles. And it's fair to point that out here.
Warren publicly praised quarterback Justin Fields. Warren's comments complicate the messaging and expectations as it relates to whether the Bears will keep Fields or trade him and draft a quarterback, like Caleb Williams, with the first overall pick in the draft.
It's possible that Warren's comments were part of an organizational strategy aimed at creating the impression that the Bears want to keep Fields, which can in turn drive up trade value. It's also possible that Warren said what he said without the team's football operations knowing it was coming.
As a source with extensive experience navigating such dynamics within an NFL organization remarked, Warren's jurisdiction is business matters, headlined by the effort to get a new stadium.
"This where the business guys get themselves in trouble," the source said. "[Warren] knows nothing about players."
The point is that opinions about players should be expressed only by those who have accountability for those opinions when they are turned into decisions. In Chicago, that's G.M. Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus.
"What if those guys started giving their opinions about the new stadium that made his job more difficult?" the source remarked.
It's an interesting way to think about it. If Poles and/or Eberflus started commenting publicly on specific stadium options, most would think that's odd. Shouldn't that be the same reaction when people not in football operations talk about a team's football players?
Again, it might be part of a broader plan. If not, there's a potential price to pay internally. Especially if Poles and Eberflus have decided to move on from the player Warren praised last week.
