Brad Biggs Reveals How Bad The Justin Fields Market Actually Was
Courtney Cronin of ESPN stated the Chicago Bears turned down a bigger trade offer from another team for Justin Fields because the team felt compelled to send him somewhere he had a chance to develop properly. The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the stablest organizations in the league. If he can thrive there, he won’t thrive anywhere. Yet some wonder how much more significant that offer was. If the Bears turned down a 3rd round pick for Fields, that feels like business malpractice. In reality, it probably wasn’t more than a 4th round pick at most.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune shared details on how things went down. The harsh reality is that the market dictates the price. From everything gathered, one thing was clear. Fields wasn’t viewed as a starter by most of the NFL. He was a high-end backup; you don’t trade considerable resources for backups. Biggs provided a glaring picture of how bad it was. From what he understands, the buzz around Fields was so quiet that another quarterback actually generated more excitement.
And it’s nowhere close to who you’re thinking of.
“Could general manager Ryan Poles have done better? Perhaps. But as quarterback jobs were filled around the league, other teams told the Bears how they felt about Fields. The New York Giants signed Drew Lock, who reportedly is going to compete for the starting job. The Las Vegas Raiders scooped up Gardner Minshew. The Philadelphia Eagles, who have an athletic starter in Jalen Hurts in an offense that would seemingly fit Fields, traded with the Steelers for Kenny Pickett, opening a spot for Fields in Pittsburgh.
The Washington Commanders signed Marcus Mariota. The Minnesota Vikings grabbed Sam Darnold. The Buffalo Bills brought back Mitch Trubisky. The Jacksonville Jaguars traded for Mac Jones. The Tennessee Titans signed Mason Rudolph. The Arizona Cardinals traded with the Atlanta Falcons for Desmond Ridder, and one source said there was more chatter in league circles about Ridder than Fields.”
Justin Fields is probably a humbled young man right now.
His self-confidence has never been questioned. It is a big reason why he managed to improve slightly over the past two years despite turbulent circumstances around him. That said, the improvement doesn’t seem to have impressed anybody beyond Bears fans. Other NFL teams see a great athlete who was middling as a passer for most of his career. They weren’t willing to gamble their available starting jobs on him suddenly figuring things out. In the end, the Bears chose to take a modest return while giving him a decent chance to land on his feet in Pittsburgh.
Chicago’s future appears in good shape regardless. They have nine picks waiting in the 2025 draft and hold the #1 pick this year. If the team does their quarterback evaluations right for once, they will end up with somebody better than Justin Fields. Nobody wanted to see him fail, least of all the organization. Sadly, that is how things pan out far more often than not. Fields fell in the 2021 draft for a reason. Teams had reservations about his ability as a passer. Those reservations proved accurate.
Here’s hoping he eventually figures them out.