Silvy: Keeping Fields after drafting Williams isn’t an option for Bears

Well, we’re waiting.

Ryan Poles, the GM who isn’t scared to take big swings, is standing in the batter’s box with the bat on his shoulder.

Justin Fields is still here.

And most of his free-agent additions have been to improve depth and not addressing true weaknesses on his team.

The most excitement for Bears fans came when they found out Simone Biles is coming to town. Her husband is new safety Jonathan Owens.

Not much to do back flips over.

I get it, the winners of free agency very rarely win during the regular season, but Poles has yet to address big needs at edge rusher, defensive tackle, center and wide receiver.

Kevin Byard should be a nice upgrade over Eddie Jackson, but the additions of D’Andre Swift and Gerald Everett come at positions of strengths. Ryan Bates and Owens will add depth.

We hyped the past year raving about the Bears’ crazy amount of salary-cap room only to spend a portion of it at a Target sale.

And then there’s the Fields’ trade market.

Just when you thought the Bears quarterback conversation couldn’t get more polarizing, now there’s talk from some that since Poles can’t get what he wants for Fields, that he should hold onto him through training camp and hope a QB injury creates a new market for Fields.

I understand, you don’t want to just give Fields away and want “proper” value. But this is a terrible idea on every level.

RIP my Twitter mentions again, because I know drafting Caleb Williams isn’t set in stone, but it is the way the NFL world believes the Bears will go, so let’s play this out.

Keeping Fields isn’t good for Fields. If the Bears do draft Williams, they’re already telling Fields that he’s not their guy and they’ve shown him that they’ve shopped him. Why would he want to return to Chicago to play second fiddle to the new quarterback in town? Fields would have to learn his third offense in four years, only to be traded at any time and have to learn another offense. Let him get to his new team immediately and practice what you preached, “do right by Justin.”

Keeping Fields isn’t good for Williams. Are you allowing Fields compete for the job? Once Williams gets here, all of the Bears time and energy needs to be put into developing Williams, not into a competition.

Developing a quarterback is hard enough. Getting acclimated to the NFL isn’t easy.

Williams is going to face a ton of adversity trying to become the first great modern Bears quarterback, it would be silly if the Bears create an extra layer of self-imposed drama that a QB controversy would create. The Bears need to quiet the noise once Williams arrives, not make it noisier.

Keeping Fields isn’t good for Matt Eberflus. While Eberflus looks like a new man with a recent makeover, he’s still the same guy trying to build a winning culture. The Chiefs were able to have Patrick Mahomes sit for a couple of reasons, but they had Andy Reid and Alex Smith was throwing for 4,000 yards and winning 11 games. The Bears don’t have either.

Eberflus had a tough enough time trying to get his team ready for the Packers last year on opening day losing 38-20. Eberflus and the Bears began the season 0-4. Now you want to throw a complicated quarterback issue for Eberflus to juggle? Hard pass.

And finally, keeping Fields isn’t good for the fanbase. We used to be able to debate in the bar or the barbershop with a laugh and a handshake. This quarterback debate is toxic and the fanbase can’t survive a training camp QB controversy. It’s not Fields’ fault but we all need to look in the mirror when this is finally settled.

I always thought the Bears would get a second-round pick for Fields and still believe in the right situation, Fields can become a good quarterback. But just because you can’t get what you think he’s worth, that can’t change your off-season plans.

Fields at this point is a sunk cost and there’s such a thing called sunk-cost fallacy: The phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.

At this point it’s time to abandon the Fields dreams and hopes of a high pick for him.

The best move is, to move on, no matter the cost.

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.