The Chicago Bears went out of their way to accommodate Justin Fields before trading him to the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to a new report.
The Bears had interest from at least four teams other than the Steelers when discussing a Fields trade, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. However, Fields’ camp told the Bears that the quarterback did not want to be dealt to those teams, so the team traded him to Pittsburgh.
Important note on the Justin Fields trade: At least four additional teams inquired about trading for Fields, but Fields’ representation asked for him not to be traded there. He wanted the #Steelers, and the #Bears did right by him. https://t.co/jE65yV0jzm
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 17, 2024
The Bears had no obligation to abide by Fields’ wishes when dealing him, but they did it anyway. Perhaps it is no wonder the quarterback had such nice things to say about the organization despite how his time there ended.
Fields will not start for the Steelers initially, as he will be tasked with backing up Russell Wilson. There is no doubt that Fields’ camp was aware of that. They may believe Fields is capable of taking Wilson’s job during the season, and they might not necessarily be alone in that thinking.
It is unclear which other teams were interested in Fields. Considering some of what we had previously heard, however, they may have been teams where Fields would not have as clear a path toward starting again.
