Steelers trade for Bears' Justin Fields

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers made another blockbuster move Saturday when they traded with the Chicago Bears to acquire quarterback Justin Fields. Fields is being brought in to be a backup to former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson, who was acquired in free agency earlier this week. The trade comes one day after the Steelers traded former starter Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles, a move that surprised the city and the rest of the NFL. The Steelers called the Bears after they traded Pickett to inquire about Fields. The Steelers gave up a sixth-round pick in 2025 that could turn into a fourth-round pick based on playing time to acquire Fields, a former No. 1 draft choice who won just 10 games in three seasons with the Bears. The trade was necessitated because the Steelers had only one quarterback on the roster after the trade of Pickett, the release of Mentor native Mitch Trubisky and losing Mason Rudolph to the Tennessee Titans in free agency. The acquisition of Fields creates a curious situation because Wilson is signed for just one season at the veteran minimum of $1.2 million. However, the deal was for just one season because the Denver Broncos, Wilson's former team, were already paying the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback $39 million in 2024. The Steelers and Wilson intend to do a longer deal at the end of the season. Fields has a year remaining on his rookie contract that pays him $1.617 million in salary and another $1.617 million in roster bonus in 2024. But because Fields was a first-round draft choice, the Steelers have the ability to pick up a fifth-year option on the former Ohio State quarterback. They would have to do so by May 2, but it is extremely unlikely they will pick up his option. The Steelers really liked Fields coming out of Ohio State and would have drafted him in 2021 if he were still available. The Bears selected him with the 11th overall pick, 13 spots ahead of the Steelers. They ended up taking running back Najee Harris in that first round. Fields, who just turned 25 earlier this month, has averaged only 166.9 passing yards per game with 40 touchdowns to 30 interceptions through 40 games — 38 starts — with the Bears. But he's often viewed as the most dynamic running quarterback in the NFL not named Lamar Jackson, as evidenced by 55.5 rushing yards per game with 14 career touchdowns. He led the league with 7.1 yards per carry in 2022. Naturally, with that willingness to extend plays and eventually scramble, Fields has been a sack-prone player, too. In 2022, he was dropped a league-high 55 times. Fields was sacked 36 times as a rookie and 44 last season. Finding the right balance of using his athleticism for good and cutting out the negative plays is what could maximize Fields and his potential. The Bears fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy after they went 7-10 and ranked 18th in scoring with 21.2 points per game. Fields himself has a miserable 10-28 record as a starter, but it's worth noting the Bears were a franchise in transition for much of his tenure, moving from head coach Matt Nagy to defensive-minded Matt Eberflus. They're a near-lock to draft USC star and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams at the end of April. "Quarterback mobility is a component of play, something that you don't deal with every week, something that we better be ready to deal with this week. ... I imagine he's gaining a sense of comfort of when to utilize those skills and when it's most appropriate and how to take advantage of his talents with each passing week," Mike Tomlin said in 2021 before facing Fields and the Bears. "That has our attention. The designed run component of play, like we mentioned, talking about the bye week of studying global quarterback mobility and its impact on the game. We get to maybe call on some of that research as we get ready for this one because of his skills." In that game, Fields completed 17 of 29 passes for 291 yards, one touchdown, one interception and ran eight times for 45 yards while taking three sacks. The Steelers, thanks in large part to T.J. Watt notching all three sacks, won 29-27 on a last-minute Chris Boswell field goal. Indeed, Tomlin has been enamored with that factor for several years now, since at least the end of Ben Roethlisberger's tenure when the Steelers' future Hall of Fame quarterback was mostly a statue in the pocket. Somewhat ironically, Fields has compared his own game to that of a young Wilson, and now, he'll have a chance to learn from a similar-style quarterback.