The Chicago Bears are still turning over every stone when it comes to their quarterback situation, but it looks like other teams are doing the same. According Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Bears received trade inquiries surrounding quarterback Justin Fields while attending this year’s Senior Bowl a couple weeks ago. Breer writes that Bears staffers got a sense of what the quarterback’s value might be on the trade market:
Chicago staffers got inquiries from other teams on Fields in Mobile. And while the Bears haven’t shopped Fields, those conversations did allow the team to start to gauge the 2021 first-rounder’s worth out there on the market.
The Bears are meeting over the next couple weeks to finalize plans at quarterback, with the expectation that they’ll have the plan in place in Indianapolis next week.
Breer makes it clear the Bears were not shopping Fields but rather listening to what teams might be willing to offer in a potential deal. They also still need to get to the NFL Combine next week to begin finalizing any plans once they meet with prospects. Still, it’s another step in the process of determining what Chicago will do at the quarterback position.
Fields took steps in his third professional season, throwing for 2,562 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 61.4% of his passes with a quarterback rating of 86.3 in 13 games. But with the Bears having the No. 1 overall pick by way of the Carolina Panthers in a quarterback-rich draft class, the chances of them moving on from Fields in favor of a rookie like Caleb Williams are increasing by the day.
Whatever winds up happening, the Bears are getting closer to making a decision that will have massive ramifications for the future of their franchise.
