Sources – Bears trading QB Justin Fields to Steelers

CHICAGO — The Bears have traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Saturday.

The Steelers sent a 2025 sixth-round pick that turns into a fourth-round pick if Fields plays 51% of the snaps this season, a source confirmed to ESPN.

Fields, who finished his third season with Chicago in 2023, will join a quarterback room with Russell Wilson, who signed a one-year contract with the Steelers on Friday.

Fields is not expected to compete with Wilson for the starting job, a team source told ESPN's Brooke Pryor. Instead, Fields should learn from the Super Bowl winner and nine-time Pro Bowler in Pittsburgh.

In a social media post Saturday, Fields thanked the Bears organization and the city of Chicago “for giving me the opportunity to be a part of such a historic franchise.”

I can't say thank you enough to the city of Chicago for welcoming and embracing me. Thank you to the entire Bears organization and ownership for giving me the opportunity to be a part of such a historic franchise. But above all thank you to all my brothers with whom I played… pic.twitter.com/fT1dORwFU5

-Justin Fields (@justnfields) March 16, 2024

Two weeks ago at the NFL Combine, Bears general manager Ryan Poles publicly discussed the idea of ​​a Fields trade for the first time. Poles said he aims to not leave the quarterback in limbo and hopes to “do right” with Fields as Chicago determines its quarterback plan moving forward.

“No one wants to live in gray, I know it’s uncomfortable,” the Poles said on February 27. “I wouldn't want to be in that situation either. So we will gather the information, we will act as quickly as possible.” we're not going to be in a rush and see what comes up and what's best for the organization. »

Chicago owns the first pick in the draft and is the first team in the joint draft era to have the first selection in the draft a season after trading him. In March 2023, the Bears sent the No. 1 pick to Carolina in exchange for four draft picks — including the Panthers' 2024 first-rounder — and wide receiver DJ Moore. Carolina's 2-15 record in 2023 propelled Chicago to the top spot in the draft.

With Fields off the roster, the Bears are expected to take a quarterback in April's first round.

The Bears finished with a 7-10 record in 2023, earning them the 9th pick. Fields missed four games during the season after dislocating his right thumb. He threw for a career-high 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions and showed improvement in protecting the football by throwing fewer interceptions and taking fewer sacks than in 2022.

Fields' career with the Bears ends after 38 starts where he completed 60.3% of his passes for 6,674 yards, 40 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. As the Bears move forward in search of their next quarterback, the process for evaluating draft-eligible quarterbacks is the same as last year, according to Bears coach Matt Eberflus, despite the depth and talent from the 2024 quarterback class and Chicago's new offensive staff.

The Bears hired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron in January after three seasons in Seattle. Before the Bears decided to move on from Fields, Waldron said he “totally believed[s]” that his offense will work with whoever the franchise chooses as quarterback.

“I felt like different quarterbacks were able to get into the system and learn it quickly,” Waldron said in February. “And that starts with our ability to teach it efficiently and effectively where they understand it…because every guy is going to have a different skill set, so where does that go? really own and control it.”

At the combine, Eberflus said the Bears will weigh heavily on a quarterback's situational awareness and execution when evaluating and ultimately deciding who will be under center in 2024.

“I look at guys who can operate in third-down, two-minute and end-of-game situations,” Eberflus said. “For me, it's a separator. And then you look at toughness. Toughness for a quarterback is really the mental toughness of being able to stand in the pocket and throw the ball, and also to have the discernment necessary to be able to get out of the pocket.”

ESPN's Brooke Pryor contributed to this report.