Other than taking advantage of the most inept franchise in the league and maybe the most impulsive/immature owner in the history of the sport, what exactly has he done well?
I’d say the TJ Edwards signing was good. He got a good player at below market value.
Jaquan Brisker is solid.
Darnell Wright showed flashes.
Other than that, what has he done well?
He traded pick 32 for like 8 games of Chase Claypool.
He traded Roquan Smith just to go and pay Tremaine Edmunds.
I don’t care what you think about Fields or Caleb Williams. Poles has completely mismanaged this whole situation, and that’s evident by the piss poor return for Fields. His crazy asking price drove away better offers.
You don’t think if Poles had a better offer for Fields, that he would have taken it? I know you like Fields, but at this moment in time 31 other teams didn’t place the same value on him. That’s not a criticism of him, that’s just what his value is at this time.
Fields is going into a good situation. He’s going to a good coaching staff. He doesn’t have the pressure on him to carry this team. He just needs to take every snap as if it were his last and get his career on track. It’s a good opportunity for him, and that’s the most important thing.
He’s okay. He’s young and learning. No doubt he’s made some boneheaded decisions. I think his eye in the draft is pretty good. I think he can be fast and loose with his own draft equity and that is obscured or forgiven bc of the Carolina trade.
I think he was sure he could get a 3rd or better so he declined some better offers than the one he ended up taking because he assumed that the market would come to him. But then Mac Jones, Ridder, Howell and Pickett got traded, lots of teams filled their backups in free agency, and suddenly the demand was gone and he had to take what he could get.
Everything I was reading was the trade market wasn’t there for him. At the same time if your plan is to move on, then you do right by the guy and give him an opportunity some place else.
I’d bet good money that Poles turned down much better deals from several teams, but at some point, the music stopped and few teams remained that needed/wanted Fields. He flubbed the situation.
Idk the way i see it, he traded a 4th for an oft injured 32 year old wr before a draft that is reportedly loaded at wr.
Follows it up by trading his qb, regardless of how you feel about him, for a 6th.
Lets see how it all plays out but i am really unsure how good either trade will look after next season. I am really not sure how much longer Poles is employed but maybe thinggs will finally click for the bears… who knows
16 teams acquired new backup QBs before Fields was traded. Of them, there’s 7 I think that would have been good fits and very interested in Fields.
Titans and Seahawks - Fields could have been a high quality backup and completed for the starter role. The Titans signed Rudolph and the Seahawks traded for Howell.
Jets - Fields could have been a high quality backup, solving the big problem from last season, and possible succession plan. They signed Tyrod Taylor.
Bills, Ravens, Eagles - Fields would have been the ideal backup for a duel threat starter. Instead the Bills signed Trubisky, the Ravens signed Josh Johnson and the Eagles traded for Pickett.
Colts - Fields would have been a great insurance policy if you’re worried about Richardson’s durability, and is another playstyle match. But instead they signed Flacco.
The Steelers were literally the last team standing. Poles had to do a deal with them or risk having Fields’ popularity disrupt the locker room, or worse outperform the rookie in camp.
That’s twice the Steelers have swindled them, Claypool and now this.
Yup there’s a reason why the Packers were passed up this last season. It’s because Brad Holmes and his dare I say “elite” drafting and wise FA acquisitions. I think Gutekunst’s last draft was one of his best ones in a while though, so I really hope he doesn’t repeat that kind of draft.
Edit: Also I think one of the best things that happened was Rick Spielman getting axed. I thought Spielman had an eye for talent it’s just his teams could never quite put it together.
Poles may not turn out to be a great GM, but I don’t think his handling of Fields will be one of the reasons. The organization has made the decision to move on, and Poles did right by Fields.
Yes, he did fantastic on the Carolina trade, but it’s hard to say whether that was a stroke of genius or not. If he made a conscious judgment that Carolina was going pear shaped this year, it was a stroke of genius. If not however, he got exceeding lucky and any other outcome would have made the early trade of 1OA a very very questionable decision
That’s suspiciously the exact sort of thing you might expect to come to light when a FO is getting killed for a move it made. Not saying it’s not true, just saying I’m taking it with a big ass grain of salt.
