Bears Moving ‘As Quickly As Possible’ on Justin Fields Trade

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles said that he is not in a rush to trade quarterback Justin Fields, and not even say that he definitely will, but wants to “do right” by his player by making a decision on his future as quickly as possible.

Poles said that the Bears haven’t made a final decision on what they’ll do. Chicago has Fields under contract for 2024, and must make a decision about his fifth-year option for 2025 before May. But the Bears also have the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and could decide to move forward with USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

It doesn’t seem likely that Poles will want to wait to draft day to make a Fields trade, but he said right now, him and his staff are still gathering information about their options.

“Contrary to reports out there, I have no master plan to present to everyone today,” he said. “This is an opportunity for us to continue to gather information, learn about the different players in the draft, listen to what opportunities could come up, and then at the end of the day, we’re going to make the best decision that we can for the Chicago Bears.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the teams that has been repeatedly linked to Fields, if the Bears decide to trade their three-year starting quarterback. 

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The Steelers have just one quarterback on their roster in incumbent starter Kenny Pickett. It’s hard to imagine them or any other quarterback-needy team waiting through the start of free agency in two weeks to land Fields, so Poles will likely have to make a move before then.

“If we go down that road, I wanna do right by Justin as well,” Poles said. “No one wants to live in gray. I know that’s uncomfortable. I wouldn’t wanna be in that situation either. So we’ll gather the information. We’ll move as quickly as possible. We’re not gonna be in a rush. And (we’ll) see what presents itself and what’s best for the organization. …

“I’ve been in contact with his team and let them know kinda what we’re looking at how things might play out, and that we’ll continue to communicate. … It’s part of this business. It is a unique situation.”