When the Chicago Bears traded quarterback Justin Fields in March after months of speculation, it marked a change in direction for the team that held the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Bears, of course, used the pick on 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. Fields, meanwhile was dealt to the Pittsburgh Steelers just one day after the team signed nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson.
Speaking to the media Tuesday in Pittsburgh, Fields clarified that Bears general manager Ryan Poles worked with him to send him to a preferred destination and the quarterback also expressed that he felt ‘relief’ after the trade finally went through.
“Shoutout to Poles, we communicated to him through my agent, and I told him where I wanted to be and this was a place I wanted to be,” Fields said via ESPN. “He honored that, and I appreciate him for that and glad he was able to put me in a spot where I wanted to be at.
Fields also added that despite the Steelers also acquiring Wilson, he plans to compete for the starting job and see the field plenty this year, in a video shared on X by The Atheltic‘s Mike DeFabo.
Justin Fields said he’s “definitely competing.. Russ knows that. We’re competing against each other every day.
“I definitely don’t have the mindset of me just sitting all year.” pic.twitter.com/pzI9rj5ldi
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) May 21, 2024
Unlike Wilson’s opportunity when the Steelers play the Broncos in Week 2, the Steelers and Bears don’t play, so Fields will have to wait at least one more year for a ‘revenge game’ against his old team.
[ESPN, Mike DeFabo]
