Bears aren't going to like latest Justin Fields news that could easily affect their future
The Chicago Bears (4-2) traded former first-round pick Justin Fields back in March, but the two parties are still joined at the hip, to an extent. At least until the 2025 NFL Draft concludes at the end of April.That's because the Bears acquired a 2025 sixth-rounder from the Pittsburgh Steelers that can turn into a […]
The Chicago Bears (4-2) traded former first-round pick Justin Fields back in March, but the two parties are still joined at the hip, to an extent. At least until the 2025 NFL Draft concludes at the end of April.
That's because the Bears acquired a 2025 sixth-rounder from the Pittsburgh Steelers that can turn into a fourth-rounder if Fields plays 51% of the Steelers' offensive snaps in 2024. So far, Fields has been on the field for all 395 snaps. To give one a ballpark of how many snaps he'd have to play in order to hit the 51% mark, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield played 100% of the Bucs' offensive snaps last year, which came out to exactly 1,100 snaps. On top of that, the Steelers currently average 66 offensive snaps per game, which comes out to 1,122 over the course of a full 17 game season.
So, around 550-575 snaps is a good "threshold" for Fields. At most, he'd have to play about 11 more quarters of football, or 2-3/4 games, to reach that mark.
What looked like a sure-fire extra fourth-round pick is now officially in jeopardy, however, after the latest news involving Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson. Per head coach Mike Tomlin, Wilson is set to receive first-team reps in practice this week now that he's fully healthy. Tomlin is also considering handing the starting job to Wilson, and even potentially playing both QBs if he can't completely commit to one guy.
If Wilson takes the starting job for the rest of the year, which if he's handed the job to begin with, why would Tomlin sit him unless he's an abject disaster, then it's clear the Bears will have to settle for an extra sixth-round pick, as opposed to an extra fourth. Things are still dicey, even in a timeshare, and it's important to remember said timeshare is bound to end, at some point. It's extremely hard to envision the Steelers rotating quarterbacks over the next 12 games.
Either way, it's safe to say Fields, yet again, will be another storyline to monitor in Chicago, even if it's a much different context, this time around.
