The Chicago Bears have reportedly traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, per NFL Insider Ian Rapoport. ESPN’s Adam Schefter also reported that the Bears will receive a 2025 sixth-round pick that can be bumped up to a fourth-rounder based on playing time.
After months of speculation, the Bears have now made their move and the path is now cleared for them to draft USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh now has an intriguing QB room after signing former Broncos QB Russell Wilson to their roster on a one-year contract earlier this week. The Steelers then followed that up by trading their 2023 starting quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Eagles on Friday for a 2024 third-round pick, a 2024 fourth-round pick, and two 2025 seventh-round picks. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that as of now, Wilson is the definitive starter in Pittsburgh.
Fields spent his first three seasons in the NFL with the Bears, who used their first-round pick in 2021 to draft the former Ohio State quarterback. His play was inconsistent as the team around him struggled and that led to constant questions over if he’d be a longterm solution for the franchise. He was sidelined with an injury for several weeks in 2023, only to return late in the season and nearly lead the team to a playoff berth.
Chicago owned Carolina’s first-round pick for the 2024 NFL Draft and was able to stumble into the No. 1 pick as a result of the Panthers finishing with the worst record in the NFL. That created the question over whether the Bears would select Williams and ditch fields, or shop the pick and keep their starting QB. Now they’ve officially made their decision and Fields will have a new home.