CHICAGO -- It was early March, and Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles was having dinner with team president Kevin Warren. It was one of several dinners they would share during a critical two-week span, and among the main topics of conversation was what to do about quarterback Justin Fields.
The Bears have the No. 1 pick in the draft on Thursday and they're expected to take USC quarterback Caleb Williams. That meant Fields was going to be traded.
"I could tell it was one of those situations in which I needed to be close to him, and he needed to be close to me, just to be able to talk through this issue," Warren said of Poles.