Tag: Justin Fields trade

Caleb Williams shares initial reaction to the Bears trading Justin Fields

The Bears trading Justin Fields signified that Caleb Williams was likely coming to Chicago. Here’s how he reacted when the trade went down.

It’s been over a month since the Chicago Bears moved on from quarterback Justin Fields and sent him to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional 2025 sixth-round draft pick. The trade cleared a major hurdle in the team’s pursuit of a quarterback at No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, which is widely expected to be USC’s Caleb Williams.

The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner has been projected to be the top overall pick for quite some time, and it felt inevitable that he would wind up with the Bears once they secured the No. 1 pick by way of the Carolina Panthers. But there was still conversation and debate that took place regarding Fields and whether or not Chicago would benefit from sticking with him instead and moving down the draft to accumulate picks. Once Fields was dealt, it made the Bears’ intentions that much clearer to everyone—including Williams.

Speaking with the Pivot Podcast, Williams was asked what his first thought was when he learned Fields had been traded. “My phone explodes,” Williams said. “I ended up calling a couple people and was just like, ‘well, we know where their mind and heart is at this instance.’ Let’s prepare and get ready and handle things accordingly and still do our due diligence on the situation.”

Williams immediately realized what that move meant, though. “In that moment, it was kind of like ‘wow’ because I didn’t do my top-30 visit yet; they didn’t have my medicals and things like that. They have it all now; it was nothing. And I had a good time on my top 30, but it was interesting right in that moment because it was so unexpected in that instance.”

Up to that point, Williams had only met formally with the Bears at the NFL Combine. His pro day had yet to happen, and his top-30 visit wasn’t scheduled until April. It sounds like Williams had a good idea he was the Bears’ target but didn’t expect them to make their intentions fully known without going through the other meetings yet.

Since then, there has been plenty of communication between Williams and the Bears, and reports indicate both sides are pleased with one another. It would be the upset of the century to not see him holding up a Bears jersey with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. After moving on from their old quarterback in March, the Bears are just days away from welcoming their new one in April.

Bears TE Cole Kmet reveals Matt Eberflus informed him of the Justin Fields trade

Cole Kmet joined CHGO Bears on Monday and revealed Matt Eberflus went out of his way to let him know about the Justin Fields trade.

When the news came out that the Chicago Bears had traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, it spread like wildfire. Instant reactions were hitting social media, many of them filled with emotions that the Fields era was officially over in Chicago. Though a trade was expected to happen at some point, the news still rocked the Bears fanbase. When it came to the players, however, it sounds like the Bears made sure to give some of them a heads up.

Bears tight end Cole Kmet joined the CHGO Bears show on Monday afternoon, and the first topic of discussion, naturally, was the Fields trade. Kmet shared his feelings on the move while recapping his St. Patrick’s Day weekend, which included a polar plunge with the Illinois Special Olympics, and revealed he actually found out about the trade from his head coach after the event. “I was planning to then hit the city and go out, but then got a call from “Flus” and the people with the Bears and decided to stay in after the news with Justin,” Kmet said.

Kmet didn’t disclose their conversation but was appreciative of being kept in the loop, even though he wasn’t expecting it. “I don’t expect them to call me for those types of things, but it’s always nice when they do reach out,” Kmet said. “I think that’s a classy move by them to kind of let guys who have been with Justin and are close with Justin to let them know about the decision and why they made the decision. I’m definitely grateful they did that, and it’s not something they have to do by any means.”

It’s unclear who else the Bears reached out to, but other players like DJ Moore, Khalil Herbert, and Teven Jenkins are all possibilities given their connection and friendship with Fields. As far as Kmet goes, he flourished during the last two seasons with Fields. The two established a great connection as Kmet totaled 123 receptions, 1,263 yards, and 13 touchdowns since the start of the 2022 season.

Now, Kmet will look to build a rapport with a new quarterback this coming training camp, but he reiterates that it’s an exciting time for the organization. “We want this thing to work. This thing is ready to take off, here,” Kmet said. “We’ve been adding pieces over the last couple of years, and we’re finally at a point where we can really be a dangerous team, not only in our division but in the rest of the NFC and in the NFL.”

Steelers trade for Justin Fields would seem to validate Raiders OC Luke Getsy hire

Justin Fields trade suggests the entire NFL shares Raiders opinion that OC Luke Getsy was not the problem in Chicago.

One by one, all the available quarterbacks were either signed as free agents or acquired via trade over the past week. All but one — Justin Fields.

It was obviously the Bears were looking to unload Fields, but the former 11th overall pick was not generating anything near the interest it would have seemed.

Today, the Steelers made a deal to get Fields that showed just how little value teams saw in him.

That’s right, a quarterback who just three years ago was selected just outside the top ten — which is franchise quarterback territory — yields a sixth round pick NEXT YEAR.

That is a serious indictment on him as a player. As they say, it only takes one team to think they can turn a player around and they would easily sent more in trade than what the Steelers just gave up. Which makes for quite a statement that no team did.

That statement essentially is that Fields was the main problem the Bears had with their offense over the past three seasons.

The thing is, however, that the first head to roll when the Bears were attempting to find answers was offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

Often times when an OC oversees an offense as bad as the Bears fielded — 28th in points scored in 2022 — and then gets the ax for it, they might have some difficulty finding another OC job quickly.

That was not the case for Getsy who was one of the first hires by new head coach Antonio Pierce. Or at least he was the choice after they missed out on getting Kliff Kingsbury.

Let’s be clear here, this is all about perception. Which means either Getsy or Fields could prove everyone wrong here. But for now, the opinion the Raiders that it was Fields who was the problem with the Bears offense, and not Getsy, would appear to be shared by the rest of the NFL.

Steelers acquire QB Justin Fields from the Bears

The Pittsburgh Steelers are trading for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields after dealing Kenny Pickett to the Eagles

The AFC North is stacked with even more star power. Days after signing Russell Wilson, the Steelers are trading a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Chicago Bears for quarterback Justin Fields.

Pittsburgh is making the move a day after trading Kenny Pickett and a fourth-round pick in next month’s draft to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2024 third-round pick and two 2025 seventh-round selections.

Fields was expected to be on the move, with the Bears fielding trade inquiries about the former No. 11 overall pick. Chicago is widely expected to draft USC’s Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in April.

Fields has played all three of his NFL seasons for the Bears, throwing for 6,674 yards and 40 touchdowns.

He’ll now back up Wilson while taking a step back and continuing to learn as he prepares to be the Steelers quarterback of the future.