Bears QB Justin Fields shockingly linked with NFC North rival

The Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears will both seemingly soon have new starting quarterbacks. 

For a piece published Wednesday, Vikings insider Alec Lewis of The Athletic suggested the two clubs could do business together as it pertains to Chicago sending signal-caller Justin Fields to Minnesota before the 2024 NFL Draft gets underway on April 25. The Bears are widely expected to make USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams the first overall pick of this year's draft.

Lewis noted that Bears general manager Ryan Poles may "struggle to find" a trade partner for Fields depending on what happens when free agency opens next week. ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter previously reported during the combine that he didn't "think the market is quite as robust as the Bears and Justin Fields would like it to be" when it comes to a potential trade. 

Kirk Cousins appears to be preparing to leave the Vikings to head to the Atlanta Falcons. The Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly are out on Fields and instead will give 2022 first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett another chance to prove he can be the team's long-term answer at the position. 

Multiple stories published on Tuesday indicated that the Cleveland Browns would rather re-sign veteran Joe Flacco to serve as Deshaun Watson's primary backup than sacrifice even one trade asset for Fields. The Las Vegas Raiders, meanwhile, may be waiting for the Denver Broncos to officially make Russell Wilson a free agent next week. 

Lewis mentioned that Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has "proved he is unafraid to trade within the NFC North" since he accepted that job in January 2022. Specifically, Kevin Seifert of ESPN notes that Adofo-Mensah completed three trades with NFC North rivals during his first year with Minnesota.

It was previously reported the Bears expected to receive picks in the second and fourth rounds of this year's draft for Fields, but that was when it was thought at least two clubs could get into a bidding war for his services. Perhaps Fields' inconsistent play – coupled with the fact that a team must exercise or decline his option worth around $25.7M for the 2025 season by the May 2 deadline – could make him a relatively inexpensive option for Adofo-Mensah assuming Cousins leaves Minnesota in free agency. 

Per Pro Football Reference, Fields finished the 2023 regular season ranked 24th among qualified players with a 46.1 adjusted QBR and 22nd with an 86.3 passer rating. Across 13 games, the former Ohio State signal-caller passed for 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions to go along with his 657 rushing yards and four scores on the ground.