Alex Shapiro, Bears Reporter for NBC Sports Chicago

Dana Carvey and David Spade here. You might know our podcast, Fly on the Wall, featuring guests from across the entertainment industry. We decided to do a spinoff called Superfly, and it's fun. It's just two of us riffing on current events, pop culture, catching up, impressions. Joe, Trump's trying to be a dictator. Yeah, he says, you know, bump on the tater tots.

Joe, no. Listen to and follow Superfly on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast. Alex, thank you for taking the time to hop on. Really appreciate it. Oh, thank you for having me on.

It's a pleasure to join you. No doubt about it. So, based on what we've heard today from Ryan Pauls and also Eberfluss, what would you say are the biggest takeaways from what they shared with the media?

If they shared anything, really. Yeah, you know, Ryan Pauls says he doesn't have a master plan for what to do with the number one overall pick and that there's hundreds of possibilities, but when you kind of sort through the tea leaves and listen to what they're saying about what they want in a quarterback, what they want to do with their future, et cetera, et cetera, to me it just kind of becomes more and more clear that Justin Fields will be traded and that they're going to draft a rookie quarterback, and that rookie quarterback is probably going to be Caleb Williams. Without a shadow of a doubt, where do you think that leaves Justin Fields and what might that timeline look like, especially given that free agency starts on March 13th?

Sure. I still think Justin Fields can be a really good quarterback and probably a great quarterback in this league, right? He obviously has so much talent. The things he can do with his legs and his deep ball are spectacular.

But for a variety of reasons, they did not work out in Chicago, so I think he probably goes somewhere, hopefully with an infrastructure that will help him succeed. That probably includes a strong run game. That probably includes several playmakers and, you know, obviously a good offensive line up front never hurt anybody. But in terms of timeline, I would expect it to be sooner rather than later just because you kind of want to get out in front of the market, right, when free agency starts and quarterbacks start to move, teams come off the table. And if you can present the team with an opportunity, hey, Justin Fields is really solid. Look at all these great things he can do.

And by the way, you can make sure that he's on your roster and he's going to be your guy moving forward right now. I think that the Bears probably want to strike sooner rather than later to take advantage of that opportunity. Alex Shapiro is here with us on CBS Sports Radio covers of the Chicago Bears for NBC Sports. A lot of folks naturally aren't looking at the Chicago Bears' other pick. They also own the No. 9 pick. When you think about the opportunity that's there, we know the Bears have a lot of holes, a lot of needs. You know, what might they do with that No. 9 spot?

You know what? They can do so many different things, and that's what's so great about the Bears having the opportunity to not only have the No. 1 pick, but also another top 10 pick.

I mean, that's where you get into truly franchise-altering stuff. So you draft Caleb Williams, presumably No. 1. If one of these top three wide receivers drops among, you know, Malik Nabors, Marvin Harrison's not going to drop, but you know, Roma Dunesay, what do those two guys drop? What better way to set up your rookie quarterback than by giving him not only D.J. Moore, but another rookie phenom wide receiver?

Or do you beef up that defense? Montez Sweat was so great, but I don't expect the Bears to re-sign Yuni Kigakwe. So you probably want another defensive end in the mix. You go with the best defensive end available, whether it's Layatulatu or Dallas Turner or, you know, somebody else in that group. And then we also know that the Bears, you know, need a three-tech, and the three-tech, that defensive tackle position, is kind of the edge that makes things go.

So maybe you go with a Johnny Newton. Or if a lot of players are still available to you, trade back. Try and recoup the second-round pick that you traded away to bring in Montez Sweat. And then, you know, if Brock Bowers is available, there's another pass-catching option.

So truly the possibilities are endless with that No. 9 pick. And I don't really think there's a wrong answer for the Bears. Well, Alex, you talk about the defense for the Chicago Bears and some of the free agents that they do have.

We know that even when you get away from the defensive line and look at the backs, someone like Jalen Johnson, they have to figure out what's going to happen there. What could the rest of this offseason and free agency period look like for the Bears? Yeah, so I think they're going to be looking at other teams and which players get tagged or don't get tagged. And they've still got a ton of cap space available. You know, they cut Eddie Jackson, they cut Cody Whitehair, they freed up some space. So they have room to spend if a guy like De'Neal Hunter becomes available. They could be a player on him. If, you know, Mike Evans or Antoine Winfield Jr., it's a bust, right? The Bucks need to make a decision on him. He gets the tag, he gets an extension.

If one of those guys falls through the cracks, could they spend on him? And then you mentioned Jalen Johnson. Ryan Polls has spoken definitively, Jalen Johnson isn't going anywhere. Today he actually sounded pretty optimistic that they could get a deal done. And of course he said we'd prefer to get a long-term deal done rather than using the franchise tag.

None of that is surprising. That's what you expect a GM to say. But if they cannot reach an agreement, I would definitely expect the Bears to use that franchise tag on Jalen Johnson.

Just because he is so good, he is in his prime, he is a big piece of this defense. So I bet the Bears find a way to ensure Jalen Johnson's on the team in 2024 as a period. Alex Shapiro is here with us, covers the Bears for NBC Sports Chicago.

Matt Eberfluss was on hand and spoke to the media today. There were a lot of thoughts that Matt Eberfluss wouldn't necessarily even make it to the offseason as a Chicago Bears coach. Knowing that they're likely going to get a rookie quarterback in, how much rope does he have to usher in this next phase of the team? You know, the Bears have maintained that their expectation is to win and to win now.

And they want to see this team get better. That's a question that I actually posed to the Bears' brass. Hey, if you saddle Matt Eberfluss with a rookie quarterback, is there going to be any latitude with the win-loss record?

And they basically said, no. We believe that this team should be good enough next year, rookie quarterback or not, regardless of the quarterback situation, that they should take a step forward. So, you know, the wins and losses will be tracked for sure. Well, we also know that Ryan Polis, this will be an opportunity for him to get his quarterback. The other Ryan selected this QB. So how does this look for him? And what is Kevin Warren's role in this? He's been pretty vocal, not in saying, oh, I want to love and keep Fields, but he's spoken positively about him. Yeah, he has spoken positively about him. But, you know, it's not like they're going to rake Justin Fields over the coals. When they're this, they try to trade him.

In any scenario, you don't want to throw your guy under the bus. So I would have been more surprised if he said nasty things about Justin Fields. But I do believe that this is going to be Ryan Polis decision at the end of the day. Now, Polis does report to Warren.

That's how the hierarchy goes. But if if Polis goes to Kevin Warren and says, look, we just totally believe Caleb Williams is the guy. This is a once in a five year chance to get a quarterback like this. We have the number one draft. We have the draft pick. We have the number nine pick. We could really build something with these pieces and trading Justin Fields and recouping more draft capital. I, I would be certain that Kevin Warren would sign off on that decision. No final question for you, you, Alex, on the way out.

I appreciate your time. I don't expect a, you know, Houston-esque turnaround for the Chicago Bears, you know, like we got with C.J. Stroud. What do you think is realistic for this team next season, given some of the holes that they have to patch up? Well, I think they actually can contend more for the playoffs than they did last season. And they came on strong at the end of last year. You know, we talked so much about the Lions and their second half turnaround and what that did for them heading into 2023. I wouldn't be surprised if the Bears did something similar. I mean, OK, the tweaks that Matty Braflus made on that defense were palpable. And there's no reason to think they'll change.

Right. I mean, Montes what made such a huge difference? The pressure increase, the takeaways increase and and sluices fingerprints were all over that. So you couple that with more talent that should be coming, more guys and more continuity. And, you know, a new offensive coordinator who has earned praise for being super creative, who is, you know, got experience play calling things to come together. And I could see them pushing for a playoff spot. OK, well, let's let's see sooner than later. Real interested to see how Caleb Williams kind of interacts with the city.

Last question. What is the overall vibe in Chicago about selecting him? Are people really in favor of his selection or people still holding on to Fields?

Oh, man, what a loaded question. It honestly at times feels like civil war in Chicago when it comes out of Justin Fields. People are entrenched.

You got your Fields guys, you got your Williams guys. And honestly, for the good of the city, we're going to need some clarity on this situation sooner rather than later, because it is a city divided. Oh, my God.

A 50-50, huh? Oh, yeah, pretty much. OK, well, we'll see what's going to happen. Hey, Alex, thank you so much for taking the time to join us. Where can people follow you and all your great work with the Bears with NBC Chicago?

Yeah. So follow me at NBC Sports Chicago, like you said, or the under center podcast with my wonderful host, Kenneth Davis and my colleague Josh Rock. You can read all our stuff on NBC Sports Chicago dot com. Alex, a pleasure. Look forward to chatting with you down the line. Let's talk again around a draft, OK?

Hey, sounds great. Thanks for having me, man. It was a fun show. It's that time of year. Cash the ticket. Jim Costa with Mike Valenny, who shipped the focus from football to college hoops.

Play in that system that's not a system, but sure plays like a system leading up to the tournament. We're looking for that value with the daily dimes. We look for the gross lines. Getting us ready for the tournament where we're going to break down all the matchups and have an eye on some future plays, too. This time of year, baby, search cash the ticket on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.