Multiple Teams Approached Bears About Justin Fields Trade At Senior Bowl

Ryan Poles is in as enviable a position as any general manager in the NFL right now. Not only does he hold two top 10 picks in the draft, including #1 overall, but he also has over $60 million in salary cap space and a young quarterback already on the roster that other teams appear interested in trading for. Contrary to what some experts will say, Justin Fields is not your typical QB trade target. His steady improvement last year and immense physical talent are almost guaranteed to draw a strong market for the Bears.

That much is already becoming apparent. According to Albert Breer of the MMQB, other teams were so eager to start gauging Fields’ price tag that their staffer approached Bears representatives about it at the Senior Bowl.

“Chicago staffers got inquiries from other teams on Fields in Mobile. And while the Bears haven’t shopped Fields, those conversations did allow the team to start to gauge the 2021 first-rounder’s worth out there on the market.

The Bears are meeting over the next couple weeks to finalize plans at quarterback, with the expectation that they’ll have the plan in place in Indianapolis next week.”

That should give you an idea of how serious the interest in Fields is. By comparison, last year’s market for the #1 pick didn’t start to ramp up until the scouting combine. It is hard to deny that several teams may not feel great about their odds of landing a preferred quarterback in free agency or the draft. Acquiring Fields might be the best roll of the dice they have.

The Bears have lots of leverage with Justin Fields, too.

Typically, when quarterbacks are traded, they fall into one of two categories. They are either failed experiments that might serve as a decent backup elsewhere. Or they are quality veterans who have become too expensive and need to be moved because the team has bottomed out. In both cases, the original team doesn’t have much leverage. That isn’t the case with the Bears. They know they have a talented player who is still only 25 years old. More importantly, he has another cheap year left on his contract. Technically, Poles doesn’t have to trade him. The Bears could easily afford to keep him in 2024, either as a bridge until the #1 pick is ready or as a solid backup.

If another team wants him, they will have to make a serious offer to get him. Current projections have it sitting somewhere around a 2nd round pick. If enough bidders get involved, it is possible that increases to a 1st. Pole has a history of getting more in trades than people expect. Robert Quinn fetched them a 4th in 2022 despite obvious signs of decline. Even Chase Claypool netted a 6th. Justin Fields played well enough last season to justify a strong return package. The immediate interest suggests the Bears will get it.