The Chicago Bears finally traded Justin Fields after a long wait. He went to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 6th round pick that could become a 4th if he ends up playing 51% of the offensive snaps in 2024. Smart money says it will remain a 6th round pick. People were upset. They couldn't understand why GM Ryan Poles didn't get more for a quarterback they felt was on the rise after a solid finish to last season. If nothing else, the Bears should've held onto him a little longer in hopes a team might get desperate.
Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog wanted to set the record straight on this subject during a discussion on Twitter Spaces with colleague Robert Schmitz. He made it clear Poles didn't overestimate the market. The sad reality is the rest of the NFL didn't have a high opinion of Fields. Most saw him as a great athlete who would serve well as a backup. That is why the Bears had no market for him. In the end, they chose to acquiesce to his wishes and traded him to Pittsburgh. It's not like they made a huge sacrifice in doing so.
None of the offers they received were anything special.
Justin Fields was undone by inconsistency and draft fortunes.
His inability to take a big step forward as a passer last season left the door open for this to happen. While he did improve somewhat, his passer rating of 86.3 was still below league average and he once again failed to crack 200 yards passing per game for the season. It is hard to win football games that way. However, once the Bears secured the #1 pick thanks to the trade with Carolina, his fate was sealed. There was no way Poles would pass on taking a quarterback at that spot twice to keep a QB who constantly gets outdueled by others at his position.
It is okay to love Justin Fields. The kid did everything in his power to be successful for this organization. He worked hard, embraced the city and his role as a leader, and played through a lot of pain. Sadly, the NFL is a cruel beast. It takes all of that and more to truly be great. Maybe he will ascend at last in Pittsburgh, but the Bears couldn't afford to wait any longer. They deserve credit for at least sending him somewhere he wanted to go. Other organizations might not have done that.
