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Chicago Bears trade QB Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for 2025 6th - Round Conditional NFL Draft Pick
Introduction
On Saturday, March 16th, 2024 the Chicago Bears announced that they have decided to trade their young and talented black quarterback, Justin Fields, to the Pittsburgh Steelers according to the Chicago Bears who confirmed this 2024 NFL offseason move via a statement last Saturday afternoon.
The Trade Agreement
The Pittsburgh Steelers sent the Chicago Bears a future pick of the 2025 6th - round draft selection to the Chicago Bears that can convert to a 4th - round selection if Fields plays 51 % of the Pittsburgh Steelers snaps throughout the 2024 - 2025 NFL season.
Fields who just finished his 3rd - NFL season with the Chicago Bears in 2023, will now join a quarterback room with Russell Wilson, who just signed a 1 - year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers following a poor showing with the Denver Broncos over the last year or two.
Justin is not currently expected to compete with Wilson for the starting QB job. Instead, Fields is expected to learn from the Super Bowl champion and 9 - time Pro Bowl selection in Russell.
Through a social media post last Saturday, Justin Fields thanked the Chicago Bears organization as well as the city of Chicago, "for allowing me the opportunity to be part of such a historic franchise."
2 weeks ago, at the NFL scouting combine, the Chicago Bears general manager, Ryan Poles, addressed the idea of a Fields trade publicly for the very first time, and Poles stated that he intended to not leave their previous franchise quarterback in a state of limbo and that he hoped to, "do right," by Fields as the Chicago Bears determined their future quarterback plans moving forward.
Poles repeated that stance through a heart - felt statement last Saturday when he confirmed the trade of Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"We have engaged in multiple trade conversations in recent weeks and believe trading Justin at this time to Pittsburgh is what is best for both Justin and the Bears," Poles went on to say. "Today we spoke to Justin to inform him of the trade and the rationale behind it for us as a club.
"We want to thank him for his tireless dedication, leadership and all he poured into our franchise and community the last three years and wish him the best towards a long and successful NFL career."
The Upcoming 2024 Drafts
The Chicago Bears presently own the number - 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, and this marks the first time of the common draft era to have the NFL draft's top selection 1 - season following trading it. In March of 2023, the Chicago Bears sent the number - 1 pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for four draft picks that included the Carolina Panthers' 2024 1st - rounder as well as the highly - talented and respected wide receiver in D. J. Moore. The Carolina Panthers 2 and 15 standings finish during the past 2023 - 2024 NFL season locked the Chicago Bears into the number - 1 spot in the draft order this April.
With Fields off of the Chicago Bears roster, the brand - new Chicago Bears are highly - expected to take a quarterback in this April's NFL draft most likely being the quarterback out of The University of Southern California (USC) in Caleb Williams.
The Chicago Bears finished with a 7 and 10 overall record throughout the 2023 - 2024 NFL season, which netted them the number - 9 pick in this upcoming 2024 NFL Draft. Fields missed 4 - games during the year after dislocating his right thumb (throwing hand). Justin threw for a career - best 2,562 - yards, 16 - touchdowns, and 9 - interceptions as he showed major improvement in protecting the football by throwing fewer interceptions as well as taking fewer sacks than he did during the 2022 - 2023 NFL season.
Ultimately Fields' pro football career with the Chicago Bears now ends after 38 - starts, where he completed 60.3 % of his pass attempts which was good for a total of 6,674 - yards, 40 - touchdowns, and 30 - interceptions.
As the Chicago Bears move forward in search of their next franchise NFL quarterback, the process for evaluating draft - eligible signal - callers is the same as the previous year, according to the Chicago Bears had coach Matt Eberflus, despite the depth and talent of the 2024 quarterback class coming out of this year’s NFL draft and the Chicago Bears' new offensive staff.
The Bears hired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron in January of 2024 after 3 - NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. Prior to the Chicago Bears moving on from Fields, Waldron mentioned that he, "totally believe(s)," that his offense will work with whom the franchise chose at quarterback, who at this time seems to be Caleb Williams.
"I felt different quarterbacks have been able to step foot into the system and be able to learn it quickly," the Chicago Bears newly hired offensive coordinator, Shane Waldron, explained. "And that starts with us being able to teach it in a good and efficient manner where they understand it ... because each guy's gonna have a different skill set, so what direction does it go? The players really take ownership and control of that."
At the NFL scouting combine, the Chicago Bears head coach in Eberflus stated that the Chicago Bears will weigh a quarterback's situational awareness as well as his execution heavily as they evaluate and ultimately decide on who will be their signal caller for the 2024 - 2025 NFL season.
"I look at the guys that can operate third down, two - minute and the end of the game situations," the Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus expressed. "To me that's a separator. And then you look at toughness. Toughness for a quarterback really is about the mental toughness to be able to stand in the pocket and deliver the ball and also to have the discernment to be able to move out of the pocket and create when it's necessary. They come in all different shapes and sizes. It's always been fun to evaluate those."
Fields’ Football Career Achievements, Honors, & Awards
- Chicago Tribune Silver Football Award Winner (2020)
- 2 - Time Graham - George Offensive Player of the Year Award Winner (2019, 2020)
- 2 - Time Griese - Brees Quarterback of the Year Award Winner (2019, 2020)
- Second - Team All - American Selection (2019)
- 2 - Time First - Team All - Big Ten Selection (2019, 2020)
NFL Records
- Most Rushing Yards by a Quarterback in a Regular Season Game with 178
Sources:
“Chicago Bears trade QB Justin Fields to Steelers”, Courtney Cronin, espn.com, March 16, 2024.
“Justin Fields”, pro-football-reference.com, March 22, 2024.