Yogi da Bear's Picnic Basket (2024)

[Grizzled]

Thought I read that the Bears would prefer a "speed" rusher to balance out Sweat's power. That would seem to point towards Turner and Latu. But I keep reading about Flus wanting a dominant 3T. Poles could have spent big on Wilkins but the team drafts another or Gervon steps up.

[Arkansasbear]

Complete different positions…Strength matters much more for dlinemen then QBs

It’s a joke

[RichH55]

It’s always a great day when I get to read the Picnic Basket…rumor is Mel Kiper waits to release his final mock until he gets his on the famous CBFans Picnic Basket.

I like the picks, don’t love them.

I like Latu but I have concerns with his core strength, gym commitment, and ability to get off the blocks. That said, if he has the love for the game, the possibilities are endless with him.

I can understand concerns about his injury and his ability to set an edge against dominant run blocking OTs like Fuaga, but I don't think you need to worry about his love for the game. He came back from a devastating neck injury, risked paralysis, and shopped for a team who would medically clear him. Plus with his repertoire of moves, he's clearly studied and practiced his position in depth. I don't think his love of the game can be questioned.

His ability to get off blocks is amazing with the wide selection of moves at his disposal. In fact, it's why I want him. Core strength is something that's hard to judge. He does need to anchor better in the run game. But his gym commitment shouldn't be a concern when you look at his Combine testing. It wasn't like Verse, but it was still pretty effing good.

I agree with Rich on the WR and OC…I really don’t like the USC WR that early in a very deep class and would prefer the WV Center.

My favorite center is JPJ. By far. But he's supposed to go in the first. We're not taking him. Fraizer is supposed to go in the second. After the two moves Poles made, I don't think he's going to take a center there. My intention with Limmer was to take a center in the fourth in order to develop him. I did intentionally over drafted both Rice and Smith, so I guess you could take Fraizer with our second pick and drop each of those down a slot, but I don't see Poles doing something like that.

Comparing Limmer and Fraizer side by side, I think Fraizer has a higher floor, but Limmer has a much higher ceiling. Fraizer's somebody who can come in and start immediately. His wrestling background makes him real effective in the box, but he doesn't have near the athleticism of Limmer to pull or get to the second level. When Fraizer gets to a linebacker, it's a guy in the box too--a short burst to get to him. He's not going much further than that. Limmer, however, has to learn how to handle counters. His initial functional strength is amazing. Hell, he had the most Reps (39) at the Combine, couple that with a 700 lb. Squat.

I ovrdrafted Rice because of his familiarity with Caleb, but Rice is an enigma to me. He was supposed to kill at the Combine (ran 23 MPH on the GPS), but he bombed instead. How do you lose 4 reps on the bench and an inch and a half on your vertical? But whatever the case, he seems to be like his father and be a much different player on the field. How does a guy with 4.5 speed collect so many deep balls? A CB will running with him step for step, and all of a sudden Rice gets a step or two on him. He appears as the bail out guy in many of Caleb's "hero" plays. But like I said, I overdrafted him to make Caleb more comfortable. This might well be a place where you could trade down and still get him. I took him where I did, because the Bears grabbing Rice just makes too much sense.

I think Smith just went in the 2nd Round on the NFL.com Mock (Top 50)

[RichH55]

Complete different positions…Strength matters much more for dlinemen then QBs

It’s a joke

And people did actual post photos of Fields shirtless thinking Abs is what makes QBs.

Latu is never going to "look" the part (and is always gonna struggle in the run game when you come right at him) - so what? His hand usage is elite. There is some T Suggs to his game IMHO

[Bearfacts]

I don't think we can rule out Turner completely but if it's down to him and one of the top WR at #8 ATL is in all likelihood gonna take one or the other leaving us whose ever left. But after Turner I'm not sold on any of the other DE at #9. If Nabers is the WR still there I'd say take him. If not then I'd trade down and target either Byron Murphy or Chop Robinson. Either one will get the kind of penetration and pressure Flus wants even if they don't immediately ring up a huge number sacks.

This may be one of those drafts where if the player they want is not there at #9 their default will be the next best guy and the range of picks where that player should go. Hopefully Poles can find a trade partner if that's the case. Given the OL talent and a 4th top WR I would think that pick #9 should be very marketable. Whoever Poles takes with that second first round pick I hope it's a player with an upside that's yet to be reached. It seems to me that 2025-2026 is when this team should be hitting it's peak.

[dplank]

There has to be a trade down partner too, and if there’s 8 blue chips in the draft and their all gone our 9th will have diminished value

Poles has been a trade down master tho so maybe

[Rusty Trombagent]

if being a bears fan has taught me one thing, it's that there's going to be a great player waiting for us at pick #9, and we're going to take Shea McClellin.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

if being a bears fan has taught me one thing, it's that there's going to be a great player waiting for us at pick #9, and we're going to take Shea McClellin.

[Bearfacts]

if being a bears fan has taught me one thing, it's that there's going to be a great player waiting for us at pick #9, and we're going to take Shea McClellin.

That was a Phil Emery deal. Someone who believed he was the smartest guy in the room. He wasn't. What he was is the worst GM we've had since the days when Mikey McCaskey believed he was a proper NFL GM who could build a winning roster. I have far more trust in Ryan Poles to not do anything like that.

Poles has always set himself up well enough prior to the draft to give himself the room to be flexible in his approach. He's more BPA oriented than position oriented. If Turner is his guy for a DE and he's not there I expect him to take the BPA on his board or if he believes he can do better by trading down he'll do that.

However, in this draft I do believe they'll be more than one blue chip player still on the board at #9 but in all likelihood it won't be a DE/Edge. It will be a WR or a CB or an OL. If it's one of the top WR I hope Poles takes him. If not and he can see as much or more value in players he can get by trading down I expect him to do that.

I think there are a handful of guys who are probably on the edge of being blue players but they're ranked lower due to the abundance of QB and WR talent in this draft. Or in the case of the two DT they more scheme dependent as are a couple of the DE. Poles seems to believe he'll have several players to choose from at #9 so I'll go with that.

[cblaz11]

It’s a joke

And people did actual post photos of Fields shirtless thinking Abs is what makes QBs.

Latu is never going to "look" the part (and is always gonna struggle in the run game when you come right at him) - so what? His hand usage is elite. There is some T Suggs to his game IMHO

So what that he will always struggle vs the run? That’s important when you are trying to decide on a guy in the top 20…he’s gotta be able to play the run if he’s going to play a high percentage of snaps


As far as looking the part, it’s probably not a big deal. Just looking for things that could be a red flag and that stood out. I’d like to see him look more like Mack than me when muscle tone is involved but again, it’s not a deal killer.

[Yogi da Bear]

And people did actual post photos of Fields shirtless thinking Abs is what makes QBs.

Latu is never going to "look" the part (and is always gonna struggle in the run game when you come right at him) - so what? His hand usage is elite. There is some T Suggs to his game IMHO

So what that he will always struggle vs the run? That’s important when you are trying to decide on a guy in the top 20…he’s gotta be able to play the run if he’s going to play a high percentage of snaps


As far as looking the part, it’s probably not a big deal. Just looking for things that could be a red flag and that stood out. I’d like to see him look more like Mack than me when muscle tone is involved but again, it’s not a deal killer.

I did want to emphasize something I posted in the body of the Picnic Basket--I would not be unhappy with Verse. I just, personally, that Latu is better, both in the run game and the pass game.

Turner is somebody who I think would be great trade bait. A 3-4 team would jump to take him. He simply doesn't fit the profile that Poles seems to want along his DL. Chop Robinson is also a player that Greg Gabriel says the NFL is valuing him much higher than the pundits are. But again, he doesn't fit Poles' profile for the position. Turner though, is expected to go at #8 to Atlanta, and #9 seems quite a bit of a reach for Robinson. But then Wright was a bit of reach for the pundits where we took him last year. Still, he doesn't fit Poles' profile for the DL. He just doesn't have the size. If the three WRs are gone, and Alt is as well, I think you have to be looking at a trade down.

[Bearfacts]

I don't see either Turner or Robinson not fitting the profile for a RDE. They're built a little differently as far as length and body type but both have the potential to be very good pass rushers. If we look at the RDE we've had since Poles arrived they've all been around 6'3"/250lbs give or take an inch and a few pounds.

It's actually Walker who profiles more as a LDE but Sweat has that nailed down. They want speed and penetration from that side of the formation. A power type DE whose more effective against the run typically plays LDE . For what the Bears seem to want IMHO Turner and Robinson are their best bets.

[HurricaneBear]

if being a bears fan has taught me one thing, it's that there's going to be a great player waiting for us at pick #9, and we're going to take Shea McClellin.

During that draft I literally said to my buddy, "he can't screw this up all the good players are there! Well unless he drafts Shea McClellin..."

The rage was a sight to behold that night.

[wab]

I don’t care what anybody says, I still think it was a mistake getting rid of Justin Fields for a sixth round pick/conditional fourth for next year. Always will. Ryan Poles said that he was brought in to “break the cycle,” just like he was brought into Kansas City with Andy Reid, to “break the cycle.” The thing is, this is not how they broke the cycle in KC. They didn’t dump their starting QB for a song and immediately throw Mahommes into the fire. Instead, they sat him for a year while starting Alex Smith.

Poles also stated that they had run out of runway with respect to Justin’s rookie contract, but that’s not really true, is it. The Bears still had the fourth year of Justin’s contract remaining. They saved all of 3.2 mill by trading him for a song. DJ Moore rationalized the trade by saying “business is business.” By what kind of business is that?

And before you say the move was made to insure a “clean” locker room, remember that these guys are professionals, or at least they’re supposed to be. And given what’s been reported with respect to the character of Fields and the presumed Bear draft pick, this situation should have been able to be resolved amicably. And what if there are problems with the contract negotiations for our rookie or what if that rookie (knock on wood) gets hurt? What if he struggles, as rookie QBs are wont to do, even Peyton Manning. It seems the presence of Fields on our roster would only serve to take much of the pressure off our rookie. Again, if trading Justin Fields for a song is “business,” it’s not very good business.

Yogi, I always enjoy your annual picnic basket and would be happy if it worked out this way. Love the Brendan Rice pick in RD3.

I most greatly appreciate your comments on trading Justin as my thoughts are aligned with yours. It has taken me a few weeks to move past it and accept the situation.

It would not have been a mistake to keep Fields, draft Caleb and let him watch and learn during his rookie year. It would actually "break the cycle" but here we are once again.

Potential lame duck HC, forced to start a rookie at QB... Sounds all too familiar. Break the cycle? Are you kidding me! LOL

I was clearly in the keep JF side before the trade and have been working to learn more about Caleb as it is clear he is going to be our QB.

He was not my choice at all and really hoped we would trade for the haul but will cheer him on the moment we draft him at #1. Bear down!

Neither Poles nor Flus is on the hot seat.

[Yogi da Bear]

Yogi, I always enjoy your annual picnic basket and would be happy if it worked out this way. Love the Brendan Rice pick in RD3.

I most greatly appreciate your comments on trading Justin as my thoughts are aligned with yours. It has taken me a few weeks to move past it and accept the situation.

It would not have been a mistake to keep Fields, draft Caleb and let him watch and learn during his rookie year. It would actually "break the cycle" but here we are once again.

Potential lame duck HC, forced to start a rookie at QB... Sounds all too familiar. Break the cycle? Are you kidding me! LOL

I was clearly in the keep JF side before the trade and have been working to learn more about Caleb as it is clear he is going to be our QB.

He was not my choice at all and really hoped we would trade for the haul but will cheer him on the moment we draft him at #1. Bear down!

Neither Poles nor Flus is on the hot seat.

They could be, if Justin balls out in Pittsburgh while Caleb really struggles....

Personally, I think that Poles did the worst thing you can do in a negotiation. You have to be willing to walk away from the deal. You can't let the other side dictate terms and just accept them. He should have just walked away from the Fields trade. And if you want to "break the cycle," you keep Justin. The cycle began some 75 years ago when he had a glutton of QBs: Luckman, Bobby Layne, Johnny Lujack, and George Blanda, and we traded away Layne. That was the start of the Bear QB curse. You can never have too many Bonafide QBs. We did the same thing when we dumped Jay Cutler for Glennon when we drafted Trubiskey. WTF! Why would we do that? Makes no more sense than trading Justin.

Now, once again, all are prayers rest with one guy and hoping he's good and stays healthy. Once again.

[The Marshall Plan]

Neither Poles nor Flus is on the hot seat.

They could be, if Justin balls out in Pittsburgh while Caleb really struggles....

Personally, I think that Poles did the worst thing you can do in a negotiation. You have to be willing to walk away from the deal. You can't let the other side dictate terms and just accept them. He should have just walked away from the Fields trade. And if you want to "break the cycle," you keep Justin. The cycle began some 75 years ago when he had a glutton of QBs: Luckman, Bobby Layne, Johnny Lujack, and George Blanda, and we traded away Layne. That was the start of the Bear QB curse. You can never have too many Bonafide QBs. We did the same thing when we dumped Jay Cutler for Glennon when we drafted Trubiskey. WTF! Why would we do that? Makes no more sense than trading Justin.

Now, once again, all are prayers rest with one guy and hoping he's good and stays healthy. Once again.

From a political / locker room standpoint JF1 needed to go once it was decided to draft a replacement.

If you thought Grossman Orton War was a sight to see you wouldn’t see anything compared to Williams Fields if any kind of controversy broke out. You’re talking Starkiller Base level destruction.

Williams has a bad game which all rookie QBs will have, then it starts. Then JF1 plays good. Now we’ve got the 1 pick invested. CW constantly looks over his shoulder.

No.

We needed a clean break. If CW is the 1 pick then this needs to be his locker room and his offense and I say that as like the last holdout of being pro-JF1.

[dplank]

They could be, if Justin balls out in Pittsburgh while Caleb really struggles....

Personally, I think that Poles did the worst thing you can do in a negotiation. You have to be willing to walk away from the deal. You can't let the other side dictate terms and just accept them. He should have just walked away from the Fields trade. And if you want to "break the cycle," you keep Justin. The cycle began some 75 years ago when he had a glutton of QBs: Luckman, Bobby Layne, Johnny Lujack, and George Blanda, and we traded away Layne. That was the start of the Bear QB curse. You can never have too many Bonafide QBs. We did the same thing when we dumped Jay Cutler for Glennon when we drafted Trubiskey. WTF! Why would we do that? Makes no more sense than trading Justin.

Now, once again, all are prayers rest with one guy and hoping he's good and stays healthy. Once again.

From a political / locker room standpoint JF1 needed to go once it was decided to draft a replacement.

If you thought Grossman Orton War was a sight to see you wouldn’t see anything compared to Williams Fields if any kind of controversy broke out. You’re talking Starkiller Base level destruction.

Williams has a bad game which all rookie QBs will have, then it starts. Then JF1 plays good. Now we’ve got the 1 pick invested. CW constantly looks over his shoulder.

No.

We needed a clean break. If CW is the 1 pick then this needs to be his locker room and his offense and I say that as like the last holdout of being pro-JF1.

I get this thinking but don’t agree with it. Primarily because I wanted CW to sit his rookie year, which would have avoided 90% of this.

[The Marshall Plan]

From a political / locker room standpoint JF1 needed to go once it was decided to draft a replacement.

If you thought Grossman Orton War was a sight to see you wouldn’t see anything compared to Williams Fields if any kind of controversy broke out. You’re talking Starkiller Base level destruction.

Williams has a bad game which all rookie QBs will have, then it starts. Then JF1 plays good. Now we’ve got the 1 pick invested. CW constantly looks over his shoulder.

No.

We needed a clean break. If CW is the 1 pick then this needs to be his locker room and his offense and I say that as like the last holdout of being pro-JF1.

I get this thinking but don’t agree with it. Primarily because I wanted CW to sit his rookie year, which would have avoided 90% of this.

I don't have a consistent stance on Start The Rookie Sit The Rookie, but I think CW needs to start Day One.

This is why:

2 star WRs
1 star TE
Good RB stable
Good OL
A defense that could easily be Top 12 and I think that 9 pick is DL all the way.

This is the best situation a rookie QB (certainly the 1 pick) is entering for as long as I've been watching football. I say give the guy the ball and let's see what he can do.

[Bearfacts]

How many more times are we gonna beat this we shoulda kept JF for another year dead horse before we admit he's really, truly dead.

You don't spend the #1 overall pick on a kid you expect to be your future franchise QB then sit him behind the previous guy. It wouldn't have been fair to JF to know his replacement had already been hired and is just itching to play. Say any of you have a job managing a division of a company that's under performing under your leadership. All of a sudden the company hires a top level manager from a competitor who runs a similar division for them. Is your company gonna keep you around while they show the new guy around and indoctrinate him in company culture? No. Would you even want to stay knowing your days are numbered? I sure as hell wouldn't.

Maybe you do it with a lesser ranked QB who everyone agrees isn't ready for a starters role but not with a #1 overall pick you've just set the offensive table for from coaching all the way down to player personnel. And not when your current QB is just 24-25 years old not a vet in his mid-late 30s on the downside of his career. If in the near future top QB will be making $75 mil a year or more I'd think you want about as long a ramp as you could create for that QB to develop before you have to decide whether or not to pay him a second time. CW can struggle all he needs to for now just a long as he locks into what it takes to win games and does it.

I hated to see JF go as well but Pitt did not dictate the terms. If we were unsure enough of JF's upside that we elected to move on from him what message did that send? How might other teams have felt especially knowing he has just one year left on his rookie deal. They would be faced with the same decision in May we would've been and there's just not enough there yet to exercise a 5th year option. So he could be one year and gone. Poles seemingly got slightly better offers but sent JF where JF wanted to go. I believe he earned that respect from the Bears and I hope he does well in Pitt and becomes a starter again. He has that shot now.

[Heinz D.]

He actually has a pretty good bull rush.



His real problem is anchoring against the run against somebody like Fuaga. I agree though that he needs to work more squats. He has to be able to drop his hips when he's attacked that like.

He is SUCH a good player...but all the injuries terrify me. Unless we trade back to like 15-20, I just couldn't bring myself to be happy with taking him.

[o-pus #40 in B major]

As far as trading JF - it could have been done either way. I'm glad he's got a fair chance to succeed with the Steelers. It's a clean break with no residual complications.

Trading Justin reinforces a strong message of confidence in Caleb.

Right now, the Bears are expressing 100% confidence in CW and that's worth a lot.

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

As far as trading JF - it could have been done either way. I'm glad he's got a fair chance to succeed with the Steelers. It's a clean break with no residual complications.

Trading Justin reinforces a strong message of confidence in Caleb.

Right now, the Bears are expressing 100% confidence in CW and that's worth a lot.

If they draft him…..

[dplank]

How many more times are we gonna beat this we shoulda kept JF for another year dead horse before we admit he's really, truly dead.

You don't spend the #1 overall pick on a kid you expect to be your future franchise QB then sit him behind the previous guy. It wouldn't have been fair to JF to know his replacement had already been hired and is just itching to play. Say any of you have a job managing a division of a company that's under performing under your leadership. All of a sudden the company hires a top level manager from a competitor who runs a similar division for them. Is your company gonna keep you around while they show the new guy around and indoctrinate him in company culture? No. Would you even want to stay knowing your days are numbered? I sure as hell wouldn't.

Maybe you do it with a lesser ranked QB who everyone agrees isn't ready for a starters role but not with a #1 overall pick you've just set the offensive table for from coaching all the way down to player personnel. And not when your current QB is just 24-25 years old not a vet in his mid-late 30s on the downside of his career. If in the near future top QB will be making $75 mil a year or more I'd think you want about as long a ramp as you could create for that QB to develop before you have to decide whether or not to pay him a second time. CW can struggle all he needs to for now just a long as he locks into what it takes to win games and does it.

I hated to see JF go as well but Pitt did not dictate the terms. If we were unsure enough of JF's upside that we elected to move on from him what message did that send? How might other teams have felt especially knowing he has just one year left on his rookie deal. They would be faced with the same decision in May we would've been and there's just not enough there yet to exercise a 5th year option. So he could be one year and gone. Poles seemingly got slightly better offers but sent JF where JF wanted to go. I believe he earned that respect from the Bears and I hope he does well in Pitt and becomes a starter again. He has that shot now.

I just disagree on the merits of sitting a rookie qb. It worked for Mahomes. It worked for Rodgers. It worked for Love. It USED to be the norm, and as a recent convert to this thinking it’s something Infelt we should have done. Ship has sailed on that obviously. But removing JF1 entirely from the conversation - sitting CW would have been in his, and our best interest IMO.

[Heinz D.]

I just disagree on the merits of sitting a rookie qb. It worked for Mahomes. It worked for Rodgers. It worked for Love. It USED to be the norm, and as a recent convert to this thinking it’s something Infelt we should have done. Ship has sailed on that obviously. But removing JF1 entirely from the conversation - sitting CW would have been in his, and our best interest IMO.

I, like most of the folks here, didn't think Fields should have sat for a year. We were very, very, wrong.

Hopefully Wilson plays well enough that the Steelers can do a proper rebuild on Justin, break his bad habits from Ohio State.

I don't think Williams needs to sit. He's about as polished a dude at that position as you can imagine, coming out of college...

[Bearfacts]

How many more times are we gonna beat this we shoulda kept JF for another year dead horse before we admit he's really, truly dead.

You don't spend the #1 overall pick on a kid you expect to be your future franchise QB then sit him behind the previous guy. It wouldn't have been fair to JF to know his replacement had already been hired and is just itching to play. Say any of you have a job managing a division of a company that's under performing under your leadership. All of a sudden the company hires a top level manager from a competitor who runs a similar division for them. Is your company gonna keep you around while they show the new guy around and indoctrinate him in company culture? No. Would you even want to stay knowing your days are numbered? I sure as hell wouldn't.

Maybe you do it with a lesser ranked QB who everyone agrees isn't ready for a starters role but not with a #1 overall pick you've just set the offensive table for from coaching all the way down to player personnel. And not when your current QB is just 24-25 years old not a vet in his mid-late 30s on the downside of his career. If in the near future top QB will be making $75 mil a year or more I'd think you want about as long a ramp as you could create for that QB to develop before you have to decide whether or not to pay him a second time. CW can struggle all he needs to for now just a long as he locks into what it takes to win games and does it.

I hated to see JF go as well but Pitt did not dictate the terms. If we were unsure enough of JF's upside that we elected to move on from him what message did that send? How might other teams have felt especially knowing he has just one year left on his rookie deal. They would be faced with the same decision in May we would've been and there's just not enough there yet to exercise a 5th year option. So he could be one year and gone. Poles seemingly got slightly better offers but sent JF where JF wanted to go. I believe he earned that respect from the Bears and I hope he does well in Pitt and becomes a starter again. He has that shot now.

I just disagree on the merits of sitting a rookie qb. It worked for Mahomes. It worked for Rodgers. It worked for Love. It USED to be the norm, and as a recent convert to this thinking it’s something Infelt we should have done. Ship has sailed on that obviously. But removing JF1 entirely from the conversation - sitting CW would have been in his, and our best interest IMO.

Mahomes and Rodgers sat for a very different reason. In both cases a vet was starting when they were drafted and winning games. KC or GB were not gonna bench the vet and play the rookie. Also, neither Mahomes or Rodgers were 1st overall draft picks. JF was not winning at that same level and whether or not we believe it would be best if he sat for a year it's not how the plan was laid out.

Thinking about it probably has changed due to amount of money QBs are now getting on their second contract. Some rookie QB have done better than others as starters so there's that factor as well. Whether or not CW is polished enough to start and win like Stroud did is something we'll find out but whether I personally favor sitting over starting makes no difference. It isn't happening.

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

Before we crown Jordan Love, he’s had one season in which the Packers barely scraped into the playoffs thanks to the Bears, where they won one game (by 4 points).

He’s still under scrutiny.
Just saying….

[cblaz11]

Agree on Love, I don’t trust him and think he comes down to earth a little.

Ya just don’t sit the number 1 overall pick, doesn’t happen.

[HurricaneBear]

Justin Fields didn't fail because he started his rookie year. He failed because in 3 years he was deemed not good enough. If he was broken by playing he would have never been an elite QB. He wasnt broken, he kept improving each year, just not fast enough. If the Bears only had pick 9 Justin would be our starting QB.

Playing CW is the right move. There is no substitute for playing. Even if I'm the last one on that ship I am not leaving it. I truly believe there is no substitute and there's enough players who have started as rookies and succeeded. I can think of multiple without trying and so can all of you.

People are afraid the Bears will fuck it up. That's understandable, it is what we do as a franchise. You don't bubble wrap these men, they can handle it. Letting the football players play football.

[LacertineForest]

Before we crown Jordan Love, he’s had one season in which the Packers barely scraped into the playoffs thanks to the Bears, where they won one game (by 4 points).

He’s still under scrutiny.
Just saying….

The other thing about Love is, yeah, he sat and learned for awhile, but the Packers aren't really going to be able to take advantage of his rookie deal - they got a good discount last year and this year, but he's going to be expensive very soon.

[Yogi da Bear]

And you don't give up your prior starting QB, one with the potential of Justin Fields who is only making 6 mill for the season, for a future fourth round pick, let alone a sixth. I will die on this hill.

Bears were in a unique situation with Justin and the first pick of the draft. You don't simply hand the starter job to a rookie. I don't care if he's the first pick of the draft. Competition is NOT a bad thing. It's NOT going to throw the locker room into discord. If Caleb outplayed Justin and won the starter position fairly, their teammates would be able to see that. It certainly wouldn't be as traumatizing to the teammates who loved Justin as what they did in simply giving him away. Hell, the Bears traded a fourth of that same year for Nick Foles to compete with Trubiskey. When Peyton Manning came in, the Colts traded an aged Jim Harbaugh to the Ravens for a third and a fourth, of that same year.

Of those teams who started the number one draft pick as a rookie, how many dumped a promising young QB for a song in order to simply hand the reins over to the rookie? Like I said, the Bears were in a unique situation that they simply pissed away for nothing. Poles neglected the first rule of any negotiation--you have to be willing to walk away. Just stupid in my book.

But I'll let this go. Caleb's our starter now. I sure hope he doesn't get hurt (knock on wood).