NFL insider: 'The bones' of a Justin Fields trade could come together around NFL combine
A year ago, Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears headed to Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine “leaning toward” trading the No. 1 overall pick. Their goal was to continue building around Justin Fields, although Poles was asking for a high price to make the trade with so much time before the NFL Draft.
Four days after the combine ended, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Bears were acquiring D.J. Moore and a slew of other picks from the Carolina Panthers for the top selection. That first-rounder became the No. 1 pick this year, and all signs point toward Chicago using it to take Caleb Williams and trade Fields.
With the combine coming up next week, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer indicated a trade could start to come together in Indianapolis again.
“I think the bones of it could be there next week,” Breer said Friday on the Kap and J. Hood Show on ESPN 1000 in Chicago. “The bones of a trade could be in place next week.”
Why the Bears might not want to wait too long to trade Justin Fields
As the combine approached in 2023, multiple reports – including from Breer – suggested Chicago would listen to offers on the No. 1 pick. Of course, the combine presents an opportunity to kick the tires on those talks considering most of the league will be in town to watch the top prospects try to improve their stock. With the draft still two months away, it was worth wondering how long the Bears would wait.
This time around, Fields is potentially on the move, and Breer suggested it’d be better for Chicago to make a move before free agency begins on March 13. That’s when quarterback-needy teams could start making moves, and it would mean fewer options for a trade partner to move on from Fields.
“I think trading a pick and trading a player are different things,” Breer said. “Trading a pick, there can be benefits of waiting. There can be benefits of waiting for things to crystallize, and I remember talking to Ryan Poles about this last year and he was like, somebody was going to have to give us a premium for us to move off the pick that early. And the Panthers brought that premium with D.J. Moore being part of that trade. I think in this case, I don’t think you necessarily need the premium to move Justin Fields before the start of free agency.
“The reason why is because if you do wait until the end of March or the beginning of April or whatever it is, well then now, there are going to be far fewer teams that have quarterback openings.”
Notable free agent quarterbacks could create ‘urgency’ from Chicago to make a move
Fields has come up in multiple rumors in the early part of the offseason, with the Atlanta Falcons and Pittsburgh Steelers popping up as possible landing spots, according to reports. Those are two teams that could be active in free agency, as well, with some notable names hitting the open market.
Once teams can sign those players, Breer argued it would hurt quarterback trade values across the league. For Poles and the Bears, they’d likely want to strike while the iron is hot.
“Kirk Cousins is gonna have a team, Baker Mayfield’s gonna have a team, Jacoby Brissett’s gonna have a team,” Breer said of free agency. “Teams are gonna have a better idea of what is at the top of the draft – and yes, maybe one shakes out where it’s like, okay, we don’t really like the draft class. But I think the chances are the number of teams that need a quarterback right now is much greater than it will be five or six weeks from now.
“Once free agency starts, once player movement starts, well now, I think the market for every player who might be on the trade block gets knocked down a notch. I think that’s why, if you’re the Bears, there is some urgency to get moving on this because if you’re going to get the best return, the best return’s probably going to be available to you right now rather than three, four, five weeks from now.”
The NFL Scouting Combine gets underway Monday from Indianapolis and runs through March 4.