Report: Chicago Bears held ‘conversations’ with teams about trading Justin Fields at the Senior Bowl

Fields is a good quarterback, and if the Bears were not picking in the top two, they wouldn’t likely be looking at drafting a quarterback. But restarting the rookie salary clock at quarterback and selecting Caleb Williams, a prospect many draft analysts and NFL scouts are high on, might be too much to ask general manager Ryan Poles to pass on.

After all, this is the second draft in a row Poles comes into the offseason with the top pick. Poles would be crucified if Williams turns out to be as good or better than C.J. Stroud.

The Chicago Bears had two-way conversations about Fields

Because of Fields’ popularity around the league, the Bears should get good value in return for a quarterback who almost made the Pro Bowl, as his predecessor Mitchell Trubisky did. According to Albert Breer with Sports Illustrated, multiple teams talked to Bears staffers about Fields’ trade value during the Senior Bowl:

Such is the case with the Bears and Justin Fields—with the team having gotten a little insight into what his trade value may be. Chicago staffers got inquiries from other teams on Fields in Mobile. And while the Bears haven’t shopped Fields, those conversations did allow the team to start to gauge the 2021 first-rounder’s worth out there on the market.

NFL teams know what the Bears want when/if they shop Fields

As Breer noted, the Bears haven’t shopped Fields yet. They won’t unless they’ve reached a point in their quarterback search where they have committed to drafting a particular quarterback.

But ‘conversations” is the crucial word in Breer’s report. Bears staffers had a two-way conversation with teams interested in Fields services. That implies the Bears are very much open to trading Fields this offseason. Bears staffers gave inquiring teams real trade value for Fields.

Who will be the highest bidder?