Getty Image / Patrick McDermott
The Chicago Bears-Justin Fields marriage is officially over. Yesterday, the Bears dealt their former franchise quarterback to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2025 6th-round pick that could turn into a 4th-rounder if Fields plays a significant amount of snaps in Pittsburgh this season.
Earlier Sunday, it started to appear that the Bears had considered what Fields’ future would look like when making the trade. Now, a new report claims that the Steelers were the preferred destination of Justin Fields all along!
Sunday morning, ESPN reported that the Bears had better offers than the one they chose
The Bears had an additional offer with stronger draft capital from a team with an established starter, per a source, but chose to send Fields to Pittsburgh with the hope of putting the 25-year-old in a position to continue his development — first as a backup to Wilson and eventually as a starter.
Early Sunday evening, NFL Network analyst Ian Rapoport went even further than ESPN’s reporting, claiming that Pittsburgh was in fact the preferred destination of Justin Fields.
Important note on the Justin Fields trade: At least four additional teams inquired about trading for Fields, but Fields’ representation asked for him not to be traded there. He wanted the #Steelers, and the #Bears did right by him.
Huge credit to Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles for looking out for a guy in Justin Fields he clearly has some level of admiration for. While Russell Wilson is likely to be the starter next year in Pittsburgh, he’s by no means entrenched in that role. If Wilson struggles, it wouldn’t take much for the Pittsburgh Steelers to give the 2021 first-round pick a shot.
I’m interested in knowing who the other teams in on Justin Fields were. If we are talking teams with established starters, I think the Kansas City Chiefs would’ve made some sense. Maybe the Houston Texans, as well. It’s hard to say, but I’d like to find out.
Now that Justin Fields landed in his preferred destination, let’s hope he can resurrect his career and show off the perceived upside that made him a first-round pick just a short time ago!