Micah Parsons will be 'shocked' if Bears don't build around Fields

Micah Parsons advocates for building around Fields originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

To trade, or not to trade Justin Fields? For plenty of outsiders, that is the question.

Amid a Twitter debate over the question between NFL analysts, one prominent NFL player put the argument to rest with a simple, logical answer.

The Bears are heading into a rare situation this offseason. They earned the No. 1 pick in the draft by way of the Houston Texans barely scraping by them for the second-worst record in the league, thanks to a win over the lowly Indianapolis Colts in Week 18. Yet, they aren't in dire need of a quarterback.

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Hence, they have abundant options. They could trade down in the draft, acquire more capital, and continue rebuilding the roster. They can select one of the top defensive prospects in the draft (Will Anderson Jr., Jalen Carter) to instantly improve their putrid, bottom-tier defensive line.

Or, as some quizically believe, draft a quarterback with the No. 1 pick and trade Justin Fields, as Parsons counter-argued in the tweet.

Unfortunately for the anti-Fields, pro-Bryce Young club, general manager Ryan Poles already swatted away the argument on Tuesday.

“We’re gonna do the same as we’ve always done," Poles said when asked about using the No. 1 pick on a quarterback. "We’re gonna evaluate the draft class, and I would say this: I would have to be absolutely blown away to make that type of decision.”

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MORE: Poles: Bears must be 'blown away' to draft QB at No. 1

While Young and C.J. Stroud present impressive cases to be franchise signal callers, neither of them will blow your socks off. Young's size is brought up in every conversation about the quarterback's draft case (5-foot-11, 194 pounds). And Stroud, while nailing the traditional, pocket passer role, struggles outside the pocket and with avoiding the rush.

Last season, in Fields' sophomore year, he developed into a legitimate dual-threat quarterback.

He rushed for over 1,000 yards while passing for over 2,000 yards and recording 25 touchdowns. He has room to grow as a passer, which leads to skepticism of the Bears keeping him. But, additional and sufficient talent added to the pass-catching group and the offensive line should exploit his arm talent.

As Parsons wrote, Bears fans should also be "shocked" if the Bears don't stick with Fields and build around him.

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