The Chicago Bears received devastating news for their quarterback plans this offseason after significant news came out of Atlanta Monday afternoon. The Bears are expected to try to shop quarterback Justin Fields ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft and select Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick.
Justin Fields’ trade value has gone down for the Chicago Bears
Recent events have crushed Fields’ trade value before the start of the league’s new year. Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers were floated as a logical destination for Fields because they wanted outside help to compete with Kenny Pickett for the starting job this fall.
Kirk Cousins signs with the Atlanta Falcons
The Bears’ best option for a trade was to partner with the Atlanta Falcons. However, per multiple reports, Kirk Cousins is set to sign with the Atlanta Falcons. The deal is for four seasons and is worth $180 million for the 35-year-old quarterback coming off an Achilles injury.
Kirk Cousins has made over $230M in career earnings from his time in Washington and Minnesota and is now signing a 4-year, $180M deal in Atlanta with $100M guaranteed.
Should Cousins play out all four years, his career earnings would surpass $400M. https://t.co/bivTbYi5of
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024
Following the news of Cousins to the Falcons, the market for Fields shrunk. The Bears went into the offseason thinking they could receive late Day 1 or early Day 2 value for Fields.
The Bears should consider themselves lucky to receive Day 2 compensation for Fields after Cousins deal with the Falcons was announced.
Who would trade for Fields at this point?
The Minnesota Vikings and Las Vegas Raiders appear to be the best options for the Bears at this point. But the Bears won’t have much leverage in negotiations with the Raiders since former Chicago OC Luke Getsy is now the OC in Las Vegas. A trade with the Vikings feels impossible because they’re in the same division as the Bears.
The Bears needed to trade Fields to add draft capital to build around Williams for the 2024 season and beyond. The Bears have just five picks for April’s draft. Fields might be on the roster when/if the Bears select Williams.
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