The Bears trade market for Justin Fields appeared to take a hit on Monday when the Falcons reportedly agreed to a free agent deal with longtime Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. Now what was expected to be a robust market for the Bears QB appears to have thinned out considerably.
One of the few starting spots left is in Minnesota, but NFL draft expert Daniel Jeremiah explained on Monday why he believed the Vikings are an unlikely trade partner for the Bears.
“Man that’d be tough for someone who’s that young, still developing and has ability,” Jeremiah said on NFL Network. “I wouldn’t want to take that chance and trade him within the division.”
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The fear for Jeremiah, if he was in Bears GM Ryan Poles’ place, is that Fields would develop into a superstar for the Vikings and that the Bears would be stuck fighting with him for NFC North titles for years to come.
The Raiders are expected to be in the market for a quarterback, but with former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy taking over as the Raiders OC, a trip to Vegas for Fields seems unlikely. The Commanders and Patriots could fill their QB spots with the Nos. 2 and 3 picks in the draft, respectively.
So Jeremiah speculated about possible backup jobs for Fields.
“If you’re the Ravens or you’re the Eagles and you’ve got athletic quarterbacks that you might not be able to run out there for 17 games, man, if the price goes down that’s a heck of an insurance policy to have,” Jeremiah said.
NFL
The widely-held expectation is that the Bears will draft a rookie quarterback this year. In that scenario a Fields trade is highly likely.
Some thought Fields could end up in Pittsburgh after head coach Mike Tomlin praised him. The Steelers went with Russell Wilson. A trip to Denver probably isn’t in the cards since Fields isn't the prototypical Sean Payton QB. Baker Mayfield re-signed with the Buccaneers, so a spot never came open in Tampa Bay.
Could Fields be destined to warm the bench somewhere this year?