Steelers fleece the Bears and the rest of the NFL during blockbuster trade for Justin Fields
A little over 24 hours after offloading their own first-round pick from less than two years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers have replaced him with another former first-rounder. As first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Pittsburgh Steelers have acquired QB Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears via trade: Fields Traded for 2025 Conditional […]
A little over 24 hours after offloading their own first-round pick from less than two years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers have replaced him with another former first-rounder.
As first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Pittsburgh Steelers have acquired QB Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears via trade:
Fields Traded for 2025 Conditional Pick
The acquisition of Fields comes as no surprise, as after Friday's trade of Pickett, Pittsburgh went into the pole position for the former Bears signal caller. But what did come as a surprise was the compensation.
When talking to league sources earlier on Saturday, the thought was Fields' market had gone from an early day three pick to a late day three pick in the upcoming draft.
Instead, Pittsburgh acquires the recently turned 25-year-old for a mere sixth-rounder in next year's draft that can become a fourth if Fields hits playing time metrics.
So there are two ways of looking at this. The glass-half-full version is that the Steelers just got a young talent with obvious physical gifts basically for free.
But the glass-half-empty version is one where you question why his value was so low to begin with.
When talking with former scouts and league sources, many believe that Fields cannot play clean football from the pocket, or at least not at a high enough level to be a starter right now.
Fields is 10-28 in his three year career as a starter, allocating over 6,600 yards passing and 40 touchdowns to pair with 30 interceptions on 60% completion percentage. Fields has added over 2,000 yards and 12 TDs as a rusher.
But here's why things may play to both his and the Steelers' advantage:
With Russell Wilson as the starter, Fields can take 2024 as a year to learn from a veteran and Super Bowl champion, rebuild himself both mechanically and mentally, and then take over in 2025 on his own prove-it deal when Wilson's contract expires.
In the end, this is a former first-round pick that were talking about, and one whose highlight tape and running ability rivals the best QBs in the league. So with a little seasoning and time on task in one of the more stable franchises in the league, Pittsburgh's low-risk move may yield a high reward.
