CJ Stroud is one of the top prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft and will be taken somewhere in the top-3, but there is one team in that mix that he does not want to go to.
Speaking to the media at the NFL Scouting Combine this week, the Ohio State quarterback made it clear that he does not want to get selected by the Chicago Bears because he wouldn’t want to take the starting job from Justin Fields.
He also stated that Fields is not a running back and shouldn’t be treated as if he is one.
“He ain’t no damn running back. He’s a quarterback. He can sling that rock… I don’t want to go there. That’s his team,” Stroud said, via Chris Emma.
The Bears have Justin Fields, the 11th overall choice in 2021. Fields was the starting quarterback at Ohio State in 2019 and 2020, with Stroud serving as his backup in 2020.
“I mean, nah, I don’t want to go there,” Stroud said Friday. “That’s his team. I can do my thing. I can go build my legacy. He texted me yesterday morning. Me and him are brothers for life.”
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For Stroud to come to the Bears, the team would trade Fields elsewhere. However, Bears General Manager Ryan Poles said earlier this week that “the plan right now” is to stick with Fields.
Last year, Fields became the third quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards as he scored eight touchdowns on the ground. He also passed for 2,242 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
“I was proud of him,” Stroud said. “There’s so many times when you get knocked down, but I feel like a true man’s character is when you get knocked down, you get up. And he’s got up every time, and he’s stepped up to the plate, and he hasn’t blamed anybody; he hasn’t pointed no fingers; and he hasn’t done anything. As a human, that just shows you what type of man he is and what type of family he comes from.
“It’s hard, man. You get hit so many times hard in the face. You have to make plays using your feet, and he ain’t no damn running back. He’s a quarterback. He can sling that rock. I’m going to stand up for my brother every time, and he’s going to do great things in his career, and I’m excited to play with him [in the NFL].”
