Justin Fields spent three years as the Chicago Bears’ starting quarterback. A lot of that time was rough, but there were flashes of brilliance, too. He seemed to show some real progress down the stretch of last season. However, many wondered if it was enough to convince GM Ryan Poles to pass on a young quarterback with the #1 overall pick for the second straight year. It was not. After extended evaluations of the incoming draft class and a feeling out of the market, Chicago finally shipped Fields out to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional pick in 2025.
Poles stood before the media down in Orlando, Florida, for the annual Owners Meetings. There, he was inevitably asked about how things unfolded. He and head coach Matt Eberflus informed Fields together once the deal was made, calling it one of the hardest decisions he’s had to make. Poles also noted the primary driving force was the contract situation.
He went on to elaborate further.
Many people believed Fields had done enough over the past year to justify a Day 2 pick in the draft. So for him to go for a future 6th was disappointing. Poles also admitted he hadn’t expected the market to unfold like that.
“I was a little bit surprised,” Poles said at the NFL league meeting Monday. “But as you do research and we have conversations, you have to kind of adjust to the market. But I think just with how other teams are built, because if you look at the beginning, there are probably teams that are looking at the draft for guys to fill in. On the back end, playoff teams probably have someone in place. So really it was a smaller pool of teams.”
Poles said he wanted to do right by Justin if a trade did happen. Why Pittsburgh? It came down to the other possible destinations having tougher paths to playing time. While Russell Wilson is hardly an easy obstacle, his smaller contract should make the Steelers more open to giving Fields a legitimate opportunity.
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“They have a starter with Russ but there was more of an open competition, it felt like from my perspective, where there were other opportunities where there were some quarterbacks that were either veteran guys or young guys that had already been paid, so it would have been a tougher situation for him to get on the field,” Poles said.
Credit to Ryan Poles for being honest with Fields from the start.
He was in constant communication with the quarterback throughout the process. Reports indicate Fields expressed his opinion on possible destinations, including ones he didn’t want to go to. Poles took those comments and did his best to adhere to his wishes, even when he was under no obligation to. The Bears may not have gotten the compensation they wanted, but they did right by a player who did everything in his power to become a success for this franchise. It simply didn’t work out.
Don’t be surprised if this trade ends up becoming a win-win for both sides. Fields goes to an organization known for its stability. They understand how to build around quarterbacks. If any team can rescue him, it would be Pittsburgh. Conversely, Ryan Poles has done a terrific job rebuilding the offense with talent at every position. No Bears GM has set the table better for a young quarterback in franchise history. If Caleb Williams is the guy, his chances for success are higher than any previous 1st round pick before him.
