The Chicago Bears are on the clock. It's officially the offseason and all eyes turn to the NFL Draft.
The Bears own the No. 1 overall pick, and speculation about what Chicago can and do with the pick is already rampant. There are some that say the Bears should trade Justin Fields and draft Bryce Young to reset the rookie quarterback contract.
But one NFL coach explains why the Bears shouldn't trade Fields.
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"[The Bears] had no business being in some of the games they were in this year -- that was because of Fields," an anonymous NFL coach told ESPN.
RELATED: 2023 NFL mock draft: Bears trade No. 1 pick for star, bolster offense
It's true, the Bears lost a decent amount of single-score games, even with their awful roster.
In mid-December the Bears lost to the eventual NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles by just give points. The Bears were beating the Buffalo Bills at half-time of that game.
NFL
In October, the Bears had a lead over the Minnesota Vikings going into the final three minutes of the game. At the end of October, the Bears scored 29 points on the Dallas Cowboys. At that point in the season, the Cowboys defense had only let one team score more than 20 points - the Eagles.
There was a three-game stretch in November where the Bears lost by a combined seven points to the Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons. It's almost a miracle the Bears got the No. 1 overall pick given how many games they almost won, and it will benefit the franchise in the long-run.
To be fair, there are a decent amount of pundits and analysts saying you don't trade Fields.
"My whole this is, I've seen enough out of Justin Fields to know that I want him to be my quarterback for the next few years," Peter King told NBC Sports Chicago’s Josh Schrock.
King also wouldn't think Fields has to prove he is the franchise quarterback this year.
"I think what happens in the NFL today – and I live in New York, and I saw it with Zach Wilson this year," King said. "Essentially, Zach Wilson, this year, everybody in New York has decided 'Okay, get him out. He can't do it. Bring on the next guy.' Now, I think that is just absolutely stupid, and would be stupid if the Bears this year, if Justin Fields is not a top-12 quarterback this year, (say) we gotta move on from him."
King added: "I don't know how it's gonna end up with Justin Fields, all I do know is, first of all, I definitely wouldn't be thinking of trading him. Definitely. And I wouldn't be thinking that it's this year, or we've got to move on."
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