It might prove more difficult than the Chicago Bears expected to trade quarterback Justin Fields this offseason.
General manager Ryan Poles and the Bears are likely to move on from Fields, with sights set on choosing USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“Caleb is as athletic as they come at that position,” an NFL general manager tells me. “He has super potential.”
However, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, teams across the NFL are skeptical that Fields offers enough upside to merit a significant trade package.
A Depressed Trade Market for Chicago Bears?
The combination of a strong quarterback class in this year’s draft, and experienced veterans potentially on the move makes a Fields trade a bit less palatable.
“Right now,” Graziano writes. “The message the Bears are getting back from teams is that they don’t consider Fields more of a sure thing than other potential one-year options such as Sam Darnold or Drew Lock, who wouldn’t come with the fifth-year option decision that Fields’ eventual team will have to make by early May.”
The Bears can conceivably afford to wait to trade Fields, given that Chicago currently owns two selections in the top-10 picks of this year’s draft and could look to move on from their former first-round pick to add to their draft capital in future years. It just remains to be seen if the rest of the league views Fields as anything more than a lottery ticket, at this stage of his career.
Through Fields’ first 40 career games, he has completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 6,674 yards with 40 touchdowns to 30 interceptions while adding 2,220 rushing yards and 14 more scores.
Which Teams Might be Interested in Trading for Justin Fields?
However, there are some teams that make sense for the Chicago Bears to reach out to, in an attempt to trade Fields.
The Pittsburgh Steelers – The question for the Pittsburgh Steelers might become whether bringing in Russell Wilson a veteran minimum offers more upside than spending draft capital to acquire Justin Fields.
Las Vegas Raiders – Las Vegas is going to be in the market for a veteran quarterback. The fact that Luke Getsy is the Raiders’ offensive coordinator could give Vegas enough background information to either entice them further to make a trade or dissuade them from making a move based on how the past two seasons played out in Chicago.
Atlanta Falcons – Kirk Cousins seems to be contemplating a return to Minnesota or signing with the Falcons. If Atlanta can’t pry Cousins away, look for Atlanta to aggressively try to drop Fields into an offense that includes Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts.