NFL executive rips Bears for Justin Fields trade

One unnamed NFL executive is among those who have suggested that the Chicago Bears should've waited to trade quarterback Justin Fields instead of accepting a conditional 2025 sixth-round draft pick from the Pittsburgh Steelers for Fields' services last month. 

"They almost got bullied or gave up," the executive told Mike Sando of The Athletic about the Bears trading Fields for a piece published Wednesday. "Their asking price was probably too high initially, and then when they realized the seats got filled, they had to lower their ask. I don’t understand why you would make that trade because if somebody has an injury or doesn’t get the quarterback they thought they were going to get, the ask will be higher."

Current NFL analyst Chase Daniel said shortly after news of the Fields trade went public that the Bears could have "held onto him maybe for a few more months" or even through the start of the 2024 season and until a would-be contender lost a QB1 to an inevitable injury. 

Such a strategy makes sense, on paper, but it ignores the fact that Bears general manager Ryan Poles essentially promised to "do right by" Fields. 

Just about everybody expects Chicago will make USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams the first pick of this year's draft on April 25. It's assumed Poles didn't want the two to share a locker room in part because of Fields' popularity among Bears players. 

It's now clear rumors from this past winter that hinted one team could ultimately send the Bears a first-round pick for Fields ahead of this year's draft weren't close to being accurate. 

Fields presumably will begin this summer second on Pittsburgh's depth chart beneath veteran Russell Wilson, but the 25-year-old should receive opportunities to win the starting job from training camp through the preseason. 

While speaking with Sando, an executive praised Poles for acquiring wide receiver Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers and for assembling "some pieces in place" that should help Williams make the transition from college to the NFL. 

With that said, Poles likely could have gotten at least a conditional sixth-round pick from a team for Fields after the conclusion of this year's draft. 

The Bears may regret the trade unless Fields becomes a one-season-and-done flop with Pittsburgh.