All signs point to the Chicago Bears trading away former starting quarterback Justin Fields and selecting a rookie quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. But it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be as easy, quick, and lucrative of a trade as they hoped.
According to a report from NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the Chicago Bears spent the past week trying to evaluate the trade value for Justin Fields, but the market was “soft” and “it was hard to find strong interest from any team.”
“As for their current quarterback, Bears decision-makers would like to make the call on Fields’ future before the NFL free agency window, which opens March 13. That’s what they prefer, but not necessarily what they will achieve,” Russini wrote for The Athletic.
“The team spent most of the week gauging interest around the league to evaluate his value. The Bears may need movement in the veteran quarterback market, which includes Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield, before interested teams get into serious discussions with the Bears for Fields. Though I expect the demand for Fields to be robust, knowing teams like the Raiders, Broncos, Steelers and Falcons are all in search of a quarterback, it appears his market is soft for now. It was hard to find strong interest from any team. One NFC general manager explained the problem with the current timing: ‘When people know you are getting rid of something, they don’t pay as much for it.'”
Obviously, this is pretty horrible news for the Bears who were obviously hoping to get a trade done in the near future and receive a strong package in return for Fields, and the NFL world had a lot to say about it on social media.
Justin Fields really is THAT bad, huh
… Not even his hometown team wants him.Trade him for a 4th & move on please. https://t.co/UCrInBBQla
— The Flus Redemption Tour🫡🐻⬇️ (@Poles_DaBurglar) March 2, 2024
There area teams that would rather take their chances with a mid first round rookie than trade for fields.
Tells you everything you need to know https://t.co/TTFGPIJC6B
— Shaundalorian0311 (@Shaundalorian01) March 2, 2024
They’ll have to take what they can get for Fields because everyone knows the Bears are taking Williams. https://t.co/bvpNYgQG7t
— 🐻⬇️ (@FrankTheBeef5) March 2, 2024
I expect Justin Fields to remain on the Bears' roster through the first wave of free agency at this point. https://t.co/2opHD7zfPi
— Harrison Graham (@HGrahamNFL) March 2, 2024
Do the Bears think someone is going to give up assets to acquire Fields when everyone knows they dont want him and he’s about to get a big payday. https://t.co/1kL8cIU3mo
— Daniel Long (@DanLong1298) March 2, 2024
Fields in one yr from $$$$. He can't be a priority for some teams
— garyelam23 (@garyelam23) March 2, 2024
We’ll have to see how this all plays out over the next few weeks.
