The Chicago Bears have finally traded quarterback Justin Fields. In a move virtually everyone expected, the Bears parted ways with their first-round draft pick from 2021 in a trade with the Steelers, who see a fit with the former Ohio State Buckeye.
Pittsburgh exchanged a sixth-round pick the team got from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Bears, which could become a fourth-round pick through playing time incentives. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the two lead NFL insiders in the industry, broke the news on Saturday evening.
“The Bears are trading QB Justin Fields to the Steelers,” Rapoport said.
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The #Bears are trading QB Justin Fields to the #Steelers, sources say. A new QB into the competition. pic.twitter.com/hGQpbVwoRA
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2024
“Bears are trading Justin Fields for a 2025 6th-round pick that goes to a 4th-round pick based on playtime,” Schefter said.
These reports were both published on X, the popular website formerly known as Twitter.
Bears are trading Justin Fields for a 2025 6th-round pick that goes to a 4th-round pick based on playtime, per sources. pic.twitter.com/E7JY7K60Wn
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2024
The move signals the end of Fields’ run in Chicago. The Bears gave up an awful lot to draft him in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. That draft might be one of the more disappointing drafts in recent memory for quarterbacks, and Fields’ lackluster play contributed to that distinction. While it wasn’t all on Fields, the team had to make a move. And the urgency was only amplified more when they landed the top pick again in this year’s draft due to Carolina’s ineptitude.
So. a trade had to happen. Now that it finally has, the Bears and Fields can both go on in their own direction.
The NFL world had much to say about this move.
The Bears failed Justin Fields during his time in Chicago.
You'll never convince me otherwise.
— Dave (@dave_bfr) March 16, 2024
I'll always be a Justin Fields fan. I hope it works out for him in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/2kihFb3NeT
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) March 16, 2024
Steelers sent a sleeve of Ritz crackers for Justin Fields bro
— Edwardian. (@DepressedDETN) March 16, 2024
Caleb Williams accepting his fate as a Bears QB after the Justin Fields trade
pic.twitter.com/W7ZNTiPDjU— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) March 16, 2024
We’ll always have the memories.
The #Bears made the right choice. But I’ll always be grateful to Justin Fields for how fun he was to watch and how hard he worked for Chicago. pic.twitter.com/SiNHRuCVs9
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) March 16, 2024
I really hate this for Justin Fields
— 500 🏎 (@Kameron_Hay) March 16, 2024
Justin Fields gave Bears fans excitement at QB that Chicago really hasn't had in my lifetime. He was fun, tough as hell, and endured circumstances early on that very few young QBs could've overcome.
This was also the right move every single time.
— Robert Mays (@robertmays) March 16, 2024
