On a surprising Saturday night, the Chicago Bears made a big move by trading quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This news comes directly from a source who knows the deal’s details.
In exchange, the Bears will get a conditional pick in the 2025 draft. This information was shared by another person who is familiar with the trade’s specifics.
This trade indicates that the Bears are likely to pick a quarterback in the upcoming draft. Many speculate that Caleb Williams from USC could be their choice with the No. 1 overall pick.
The details of this trade were shared under the condition of anonymity since the official announcement has not been made by the teams yet. The NFL Network was the first to report on this deal.
Justin Fields is expected to be the backup for Russell Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowler who just signed a one-year deal with the Steelers. Following Wilson’s addition, Pittsburgh traded Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Fields, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2021 draft by the Bears and former general manager Ryan Pace, had a challenging rookie year under former coach Matt Nagy. Despite showcasing his ability to make big plays both on the ground and through the air, Fields did not progress as a passer as much as the team had hoped in the past two years under coach Matt Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles.
Over 40 games, Fields has managed to throw for over 200 yards only 13 times, with just one game where he threw for over 300 yards. However, he did show some improvement this season, throwing for a career-high of 2,562 yards. Despite this, his passer rating was 22nd in the NFL at 86.3.
The Bears had the opportunity to trade the No. 1 pick for a significant return. However, the chance to draft a player like Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, was too good to pass up. Williams is expected to be the first overall pick after an impressive career at USC, where he threw 72 touchdown passes with only 10 interceptions over two seasons, following a year at Oklahoma.
This trade happened shortly after the Bears acquired Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers, marking their second trade for a star receiver in two years.
Last March, they traded the No. 1 pick in 2023 to Carolina for DJ Moore. They also received Carolina’s first-round pick for this year. With Carolina finishing with a league-worst 2-15 record, the Bears ended up with the No. 1 pick again this year.
This report was contributed to by AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Fla., and AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh.