We know by now that modern athletes use social media to send messages. Bears quarterback Justin Fields potentially has sent a message to the team that might be trading him.

Via Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post, Fields no longer follows the Bears on Instagram.

Surely, Fields is trying to say something. He might be expressing disapproval of the protracted state of limbo in which he has been residing. He might simply be unhappy that the team has been anything other than unequivocal about its commitment to him.

It’s still not clear what the Bears will do. And the Bears apparently like it that way. First, it potentially increases their leverage as to whatever they do. Second, whenever they do whatever they do, they can say that’s what they planned to do all along.

The possibilities are to trade Fields and draft a quarterback with the first overall pick, trade the pick and keep Fields, trade Fields and the pick and draft a quarterback below No. 1, and (in theory) keep Fields and draft a quarterback with the first pick, putting the new quarterback on the bench for a year or two, depending on how Fields plays.

Regardless, no one knows what the Bears are going to do. While that might frustrate some Bears fans (and Fields), it really is the smart way to go.