Justin Fields is sick of hearing about his future through the lens of fans and pundits on social media. He said himself on Wednesday when he appeared on the St. Brown Bros podcast with his teammate Equanimeous St. Brown and his brother Amon-Ra St. Brown.

“Why do people take social media so serious?” he said. “I still mess with the Bears, I’m just trying to take a little break.”

Fields continued by expressing how tired he was of seeing everyone’s opinion on his future at every corner.

“Every Bears post is either ‘keep Fields,’ ‘we want Fields’ (or) it’s either ‘draft Caleb,'” he said.

Fields said that he was taking a vacation to Europe soon, and that he would re-follow the team on Instagram when he returns from vacation. But depending on how long he’s on vacation, he might not have to worry about it.

Like I mentioned earlier this week, there’s a good chance that if he’s traded, it happens shortly after the NFL Scouting Combine, which kicks off next week.

Here’s why I bring this up: I thought that this whole social media connect-the-dots thing was dump from the jump. I said as much two days ago in this newsletter. I also believe that whether Fields wants to stay in Chicago or not (and he said on Wednesday that he did), he’s played his last game as a Bear. But I sympathize with Fields and the situation he finds himself in right now.

Sure, he’s an NFL quarterback and is getting ready to comfortable jet-set Europe on a much-needed vacation, so things could be much worse. But this conversation has reached the point of unbearable for me, so I can only imagine how he’s feeling. I don’t blame him for unfollowing the Bears and NFL Instagram accounts.

I know I often feel the need to disconnect in any way that I can in my line of work, so, I understand why he would want to do the same.

Fields was as open and honest on Wednesday as he’s been publicly in some time, and it was refreshing to see that side of the young quarterback. For all the shortcomings he has in his game, he’s always seemed like a decent kid. It’s nice to see him seek out a mental break from the noise. I suppose I just wanted to take some time here this morning to drive home the human element in all of this as it tends to get lost in the shuffle.

Hopefully for Justin’s sake — and our sanity — this is all over very soon.

More Chicago Bears News at Bleacher Nation

• For all the social fodder that followed the Washington game, Caleb Williams was extremely impressive in this game. He led USC to touchdowns on 70 percent of their offensive possessions and scored four of them himself. Here’s my breakdown of that game in the second installment of The Caleb Williams Tapes.

Even when Connor Bedard isn’t registering points, he’s the most exciting player on the ice for the Blackhawks.

Take this beautiful display of stick-handling from last night’s loss to the Philadelphia Flyers for example:

Unfortunately, that was one of the few highlights for the Blackhawks last night who fell to the Flyers at the United Center. Colin Blackwell’s first period goal was the only one of the night for Chicago.

Tab has more on the loss to Philadelphia:

More Chicago Blackhawks News at Bleacher Nation

• The Blackhawks will honor Chris Chelios this weekend, and many famous people, including Michael Jordan, will be there. Former Blackhawks’ Jeremy Roenick and Ed Belfour will also be in attendance.

More Chicago Sports News at Bleacher Nation

Chicago Bulls

• Eli has some thoughts on a terrific story by The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry, in which Mayberry shared a remarkably discouraging interaction with a “high-ranking Chicago Bulls executive” on Wednesday, and you’ll just have to read it to believe it.

Chicago Cubs

• We’re just over 24 hours from the start of the Cubs 2024 Cactus League schedule, and we learned on Wednesday that Jordan Wicks will get the ball first against the White Sox.

• Check out this live at-bat between new Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga and outfielder Seiya Suzuki!

What’s on deck?

The Bulls are back in action tonight after the All-Star break. They’re taking on the Boston Celtics at the United Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM CT and you can catch the action on NBC Sports Chicago.