The Chicago Bears Are Already Failing Justin Fields

The Chicago Bears have failed miserably if they went into the summer with an intent to provide stronger support for Justin Fields.

Don't think that this roster looks better than it did three months ago on the first day of April. Regardless of what the Bears brass says to the media, it hasn't done enough for a young quarterback in need of reliable pass protection.

Ryan Poles tried to sell the team's moves during the owner's meetings in Palm Beach, Florida.

We are always going to be aggressive in getting the tools that Fields needs to be successful. The talent level, the cap situation, and the timing are just some of the factors that will determine when we can go and when we can't. I think what we have done so far is establish a little bit of growth in the roster, plus the scheme, with the coaching, I see him getting better even from what we did right now.

Let's be realistic rather than optimistic.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets made efforts to help their second-year signal-callers.

Doug Pederson was hired as the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and he brought with him Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Evan Engram. They also signed a deal with Brandon. The Jets acquired a pair of pass-catching tight ends, C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Conklin, without breaking the bank along with Pro Bowl guard Laken Tomlinson.

That is how you help your quarterback.

Jacksonville and New York went into free agency with no cap space. The Bears will have more financial flexibility in the years to come because of the trade of three-time All-Pro edge-rusher Khalil Mack.

Jason_OTC @Jason_OTC

If the #Bears trade Mack without touching the deal again its $24M dead which will increase their cap space by $6.15 million this year. More importantly it clears out $28.5M that would be on the books in 2023.

The Bears could have made a decent splash in free agency. They have a cap space of over 15 million dollars.

Kevin Fishbain made the case that Chicago didn't have any high-level wide receivers to target on the open market.

Let's look at free agency so far. Allen Robinson was not going to be brought back by the Bears. They wouldn't pay what Christian Kirk got. Would Russell Gage, Zay Jones, JuJu Smith-Schuster or D.J. Chark be considered options? Would any be the guy? We are not talking about Davante Adams or Tyreek Hill. We are talking about anotherWR2 to joinDarnell.

Despite the Bears' cap situation and a pool of average wideouts, they could have spent more than $6 million per year on Conklin. Why don't you look at Austin Hooper for $6 million a year? If the front office didn't want to pay big money for a No. 2 wideout, both tight ends could have been used in two-tight ends sets.

The Bears will put their eggs in the draft basket to address wide receiver holes.

The hope is that a second-round receiver can develop into a productive top-line guy and be a complement to Mooney.

Bears fans should be upset by that strategy. The team does not have a first-round pick because of the Fields trade. The front office needs to consider needs at offensive tackle, guard, corner and safety.

If the Bears don't hit on a receiver with one of their second-round selections, they better have a Day 3 gem who exceeds expectations, or else they will have to compensate for the lack of playmaking ability and depth within the pass-catching group.

None of the other receivers have more than 67 catches in their careers. Pringle made strides last season, hauling in 42 passes for 568 yards and five touchdown, but he posted those numbers with one of the league's best quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes. Fields is not close to that level.

Aside from a lackluster group of perimeter weapons, the Bears leave Fields susceptible to an insurmountable amount of punishment in the pocket with a subpar offensive line. Two second-year tackles, Teven and Larry, are projected to start. The former missed 11 games because of back surgery, and the latter gave up five sacks through 633 snaps.

As a second-round pick, he will likely have an opportunity to replace Peters, who started 15 games on the blind side. He is an unknown because of his injuries. The front office should upgrade over the fifth-round pick. Unless the Bears make a call for free-agent right tackle Daryl Williams, their best chance to bolster the position may not come until the draft.

Lucas Patrick can slide into the starting center position over Sam Mustipher, which is where he took most of his snaps last season with the Green Bay Packers.

Jesse Rogers made a strong statement in his preview for the Bears.

Rogers wrote that if the offensive line isn't markedly better in 2022, the GM hasn't done his job.

Poles should be given a D for his work on that group by pulling out the red marker. A new center does not move the needle.

Fields took 36 sacks in 12 games last year, 10th-most in the league, but he needs to get rid of the ball at times to avoid unnecessary hits and sacks. We could see a repeat of those problems in 2022. with the lack of quality veteran additions to bolster that unit.

Some of the unfavorable turns in free agency could not be controlled by Chicago. The Bills matched the Bears offer sheet for versatile offensive lineman Ryan Bates, and the club backed out of the deal for defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi because of his failed physical.

Fishbain said that the Bears may not have a lot of patience with Fields development.

If the sack numbers remain high, and if he isn't taking care of the football, and if he isn't leading scoring drives often enough, then the organization might have to consider the possibility that he isn't the guy. We will learn a lot about how Fields will fare in the future.

If the front office wants to hold Fields to a certain standard in the upcoming season, it must do a better job of putting him in a position to succeed.

Fields will work with a first-time head coach in Matt Eberflus, who will call plays for the first time in his NFL coaching career, as well as Andrew Janocko, who has coached quarterbacks for two years in the NCAA.

With so much inexperience at key positions directly responsible for Fields, Chicago cannot rely on rookies from the draft and expect to see significant growth in its second-year signal-caller who will adjust to a new system under coaches also learning on the job. That is a recipe for a lot of growing pains.

If Poles wants to find out if Fields can be the guy, the Bears should go bargain-bin shopping before and after the draft to pick up players ready to contribute.

Spotrac.com provides a team salary cap tracker.

Maurice Moton is a reporter for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on social media.