Bears GM Ryan Poles Addresses Justin Fields’ Trade; Latest On QB’s Preferred Destinations.
By moving on from Justin Fields earlier this month, Bears general manager Ryan Poles achieved his stated goal of doing right by the former first-round quarterback. The latter recently discussed the lukewarm trade market and the team’s efforts to send Fields to a position where he might potentially play as a starter.
Not shortly after signing Russell Wilson, the Steelers traded for Fields in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick. The decision to move Kenny Pickett following Wilson’s arrival paved the way for the Fields deal and, with it, a total overhaul of Pittsburgh’s quarterback room. A recent source claimed that the Steelers’ offer was not the best presented to Chicago, which Poles verified during league meetings.
“There were other teams,” Poles told Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago. “The Steelers were just an opportunity where it was almost like more of a… they have a starter with Russ, but there was more of an open competition it felt like from my perspective where there were other opportunities where there were some quarterbacks that were either veteran guys or young guys that had already been paid, so it would have been a tougher situation for him to get on the field.”
Fields is already known to have preferred heading to Pittsburgh, but more information about his other prospective landing destinations has emerged. According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, the 25-year-old was also considering signing with the Vikings, Raiders, and Falcons before free agency began. Kirk Cousins’ choice to leave Minnesota and join Atlanta left the Falcons as a backup-only destination; the same could have been said for the Vikings, who added Sam Darnold as a short-term Cousins replacement.
The Raiders (previously linked to a Fields trade) also have Aidan O’Connell, and the team has recruited veteran Gardner Minshew as a bridge starter or high-end backup. Vegas could be looking to choose a quarterback next month, so a Fields deal would have put the Ohio State product in a difficult spot. That would also have been the case if the Poles had chosen to keep Fields while picking a quarterback with the first overall pick in the draft.
“I know there was a lot of talk about having Justin there and also drafting a quarterback,” Poles said. “We had a lot of deep conversations and I got some really good guys on my staff to really dig into how that would play out in terms of the locker room, how would that play out with a young guy that needs a lot of reps, how would that play out with just the command and leadership that you need in that position and we felt like it was best to probably move on and allow a young quarterback to come in and work into that role.”
With Fields out of the picture, Caleb Williams is still on track to be the first name called on draft night. A quarterback room with both passers would have been strange, but the former is now in place to battle for a No. 1 in a different setting, while Chicago is ready to start over under centre.
