The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine gave the Bears a truth they had to know was coming but hoped to avoid: The Justin Fields trade market is much, much softer than general manager Ryan Poles hoped.
The prevailing winds at the combine pointed to only two teams as realistic suitors for Fields: The Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Multiple league sources told NBC Sports Chicago that the Falcons reached out to the Bears to make initial contract about a potential Fields deal. The Steelers are also believed to have inquired about the 25-year-old quarterback.
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But while the Falcons and Steelers have shown cursory interest in Fields, it's clear that Fields is Plan B or Plan C for both franchises, and two veteran quarterbacks will only serve to make the Fields trade market softer.
Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson.
Cousins, 35, is coming off an Achilles injury and will be a free agent when the new league year begins. The Minnesota Vikings are interested in bringing Cousins back but are unlikely to give him a fully guaranteed contract. Everything is trending toward Cousins leaving Minnesota. Cousins' contract voids March 13, which means the Vikings likely need to sign him to a new deal before the new league year begins to retain him. But with the Falcons and other teams expected to show interest, Cousins is expected to hit the market, and Atlanta is viewed as a heavy favorite to land the veteran quarterback.
If that happens, one Fields suitor is off the board.
That brings us to Wilson, who the Denver Broncos will release once the new league year begins. Wilson was never as good as the narrative would have us believe, but he is still a veteran quarterback with a Super Bowl resume who will be available for the league minimum.
That package will likely appeal to a Steelers team with a good defense and has been to the playoffs in three of the last four seasons. Pittsburgh is expected to be heavily interested in Wilson.
That would take the top two Fields suitors off the market.
If that comes to pass, the market for Fields will be barren, and Poles will have to wait for another suitor to appear ... however long that takes.