The Bears were already rumored to be willing to shop quarterback Justin Fields ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft. Instead, they traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers.
Now, just two games into the 2023 season, it looks increasingly clear it's time for Chicago to move on. The best way to do that? A trade to get something back for the former first-round pick.
The return on Fields will be limited. Josh Rosen was traded one year after being drafted for a 2019 second-rounder and a fifth-rounder in 2020. Trey Lance, who was drafted ahead of Fields in 2021, was just traded to the Cowboys for a measly fourth-round pick. But it may be better to act now than to get nothing for him.
Honestly, the Bears should have traded Fields before the draft when they had the chance. Now, most of the league either has a quarterback they like or just invested draft capital in a quarterback. The options for a trade are slim, but there are a few landing spots out there.
Justin Fields trade option for the Bears: Tennessee Titans
The problem for the Titans is they've been pretty good for the past few years with four playoff appearances in the last six seasons. They've just never done anything of note in the playoffs because they've always been limited at the quarterback spot.
They've tried to correct that in the last two drafts with Malik Willis in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft and Will Levis in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. The jury isn't out on either of those quarterbacks but it feels like now they've just got three mid options at QB.
So here's a bold idea: Take an actual swing and see what a dynamic playmaker could do in Tennessee.
The Titans have a surplus QB in either Willis or Levis to use in the trade. They can send one of them, probably Willis, to Chicago along with a fourth-rounder and then see what Fields can do in support of Derrick Henry.
Meanwhile, the Bears can move on from Fields while adding a raw talent who will be under team control until 2025 on the cheap.
Admittedly, this isn't the most realistic option. There are others to explore...
Justin Fields trade option for the Bears: New York Jets
The Jets are the one team out there with real incentive to be on the trade market hunting for a quarterback. They went all-in on Aaron Rodgers and got burned by an untimely injury. Now they're left with Zach Wilson, a quarterback they very clearly gave up on after last season.
Robert Saleh can say NY is Wilson's team all he wants. No one believes him.
Meanwhile, the Bears aren't feeling great about their 2021 first-round pick. How about a swap?
A straight swap doesn't exactly work because A. Fields has been a better quarterback than Wilson so far and B. Wilson will cost more to employ in 2024. So New York needs to throw in a Day 3 draft pick or more to sweeten the pot.
Why does this work for either team? A fresh start could be just what each of these quarterbacks needs.
Wilson could get his feet under him in Chicago and prove he deserves another chance. Or he could fail and the Bears would be that much closer to the No. 1 overall pick in the draft with Caleb Williams waiting.
As for the Jets, they need to at least give Rodgers the chance to return in the playoffs. Reuniting Fields with Garrett Wilson in New York could do the trick.
It's rare you see NFL teams outright swap players without one of them being particularly desirable and the other one being a makeweight. So we're not banking on this happening. But what about teams that legitimately have to consider making a change at QB?
Justin Fields trade option for the Bears: Las Vegas Raiders
The biggest issue for the Bears is that most NFL teams are far more settled at QB than Chicago is. If the Jets aren't interested in trading for a short-term Aaron Rodgers replacement, there simply aren't many teams out there with an immediate need.
The Patriots clearly aren't bought in on Mac Jones but Bill Belichick isn't one to approve a bold QB trade. The Broncos are definitely regretting trading for Russell Wilson, but no one, not even the Bears, is trading for that contract. So what's left?
The Las Vegas Raiders are reeling after a blowout loss to the Bills that exposed the downside to signing Jimmy Garoppolo. He's not a franchise QB.
What's Josh McDaniels to do with skepticism looming over his second head coaching stint? Go big or go home.
The Raiders have plenty of future draft picks to work with. They can pick up Fields and give McDaniels an exciting, but unfinished young quarterback to build up while getting out of paying Garopppolo $24 million next year.
Fields is flawed for sure, but he still has real potential McDaniels could try to unlock. It's worth a shot when Las Vegas doesn't have much else going for them.
On the other side of the trade, the Bears would get a stabilizing force at quarterback to buy Matt Eberflus some more time in Chicago.
