Likely Return For A Justin Fields Trade Revealed
Justin Fields isn’t under any illusions. He knows he must play better down the stretch of this season. The noise about his job security is getting louder. The Chicago Bears are projected to secure a top-3 pick in the 2024 draft. That makes the odds of them drafting a new quarterback likely. The only way that doesn’t happen is if Fields can work some magic over the final seven games. He must play with consistency and find a way to win some games. None of those things have happened since he arrived in Chicago two years ago.
If he can’t pull it off, then the question becomes what fate awaits him next year. Most believe it is probable GM Ryan Poles will trade Fields to a team interested in giving him a fresh opportunity. The quarterback, for all his faults, has flashed lots of potential. With so few quarterbacks in the 2024 draft to go around, it isn’t crazy to think some teams might prefer to roll the dice on him. Bill Barnwell of ESPN believes that will be the case. He even has a good idea of what the Bears might get in return.
“THE BEARS WOULDN’T HAVE MUCH LEVERAGE IN MAKING A FIELDS TRADE, GIVEN THAT OTHER TEAMS AROUND THE LEAGUE WOULD KNOW THEY WERE MOVING ON, BUT WE’VE SEEN THIS SITUATION BEFORE. WHEN THE JETS WERE ABOUT TO DRAFT QUARTERBACK ZACH WILSON WITH THE NO. 2 OVERALL PICK OF THE 2021 DRAFT, THEY DEALT SAM DARNOLD TO THE PANTHERS FOR SECOND-, FOURTH- AND SIXTH-ROUND PICKS. THE PANTHERS PICKED UP DARNOLD’S FIFTH-YEAR OPTION, A MOVE THAT SEEMED FOOLISH WHEN THEY BENCHED HIM DURING HIS FIRST SEASON WITH THE TEAM. CAROLINA EVENTUALLY PAID DARNOLD ABOUT $23.7 MILLION FOR 17 MIDDLING STARTS. FIELDS WOULD PROBABLY NET THE BEARS A SIMILAR RETURN.”
The Bears can wait out the Justin Fields market
They have him under contract for one more year. The deadline for a team to pick up the 5th-year option on that deal is May 2nd. That means it would be wise for any organization interested to get a trade done before then. Such a return for Chicago would wipe out what they lost in the trade for Montez Sweat last month. The Bears currently have seven picks in the 2024 draft, including two 1st rounders. Two or three additional picks would give Poles the usual flexibility he prefers.
Justin Fields is the one who controls this scenario now. He’s back from his dislocated thumb. There are seven games left. He doesn’t need to win them all, but he does have to keep the Bears competitive. He also can’t afford some of his usual games where he finishes with under 150 yards passing. The organization expected progress from him. There hasn’t been enough. His window to change that is closing. Otherwise, the odds are high that he will get shipped to a new team by next summer.
Bears coordinator Luke Getsy: QB Justin Fields is ‘locked in’
After missing four starts because of a dislocated right thumb, Fields will start Sunday against the Lions. The challenge for Getsy is figuring out exactly what Fields is capable of doing — and what, if anything, his thumb injury will limit.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields is ready to go, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said Thursday.
“He’s been locked in mentally this whole time, especially the last two weeks because there was a chance [he’d play],” he said. “So, that part of it has been good. I think that part of it has been pretty smooth. Getting back on the grass is the important part.”
After missing four starts because of a dislocated right thumb, Fields will start Sunday against the Lions. The challenge for Getsy is figuring out exactly what Fields is capable of doing — and what, if anything, his thumb injury will limit.
“We’ve had a couple chances to do that and we’re still going through that to see how far he can take everything,” Getsy said. “The [practice] reps are important and just making sure he feels comfortable and ready to rock and roll is really the most important thing.
“I think as far as what’s going on in our offense, he’s got that stuff down pretty good. So that part of it, we feel pretty good about it.”
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