Will The Bears Cut Or Trade Justin Fields? 2024 Offseason Outlook

Back in 2021, Justin Fields was selected by the Chicago Bears 11th overall out of Ohio State University. He finished ninth in MVP voting in 2022 after averaging 150 passing yards and 70 rushing yards per game in 15 games for a struggling Bears team.

The 24-year-old dealt with injuries early in the season but ended up putting together a very solid stretch of games to end the season and won five games as a starter. Had he been healthy the entire year, the Bears could very well have made the postseason after their defensive turnaround.

However, Chicago owns the number one pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after they traded down from the number one overall pick in 2023 with the Panthers, who were the worst team this year. Will the Bears trade Justin Fields this offseason? Let's take a look.

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Justin Fields 2023 Season Review

Fields started 13 games for the Bears in 2023, and the team was 5-8 in games he started. Once he returned from injury in Week 11, the only losses came at Detroit where they led the entire game, at Cleveland where they led the entire time, and at Green Bay who needed a win to get into the postseason. He threw for 2,562 yards while rushing for 657 yards, scoring 20 total touchdowns with 13 giveaways.

Among quarterbacks with at least 50 percent of the team's dropbacks, Fields ranked in the top 10 in big-time throw percentage but also in the top 10 in turnover-worthy play rate. Overall, PFF graded him as the 19th-best quarterback in 2023, just behind Baker Mayfield and Derek Carr.

To sustain success in the NFL, Fields has to improve in the intermediate pass game, as he ranked third-worst in adjusted completion percentage on intermediate passes, putting just 50 percent of passes from 10 to 19 yards on target. Overall, Fields improved after injury, and the Bears were playing competitive football.

Will The Bears Cut Or Trade Justin Fields?

Fields has certainly shown enough at the quarterback position to warrant a decent extension, but 2024 isn't your usual quarterback class in the NFL Draft. Caleb Williams has been touted as a generational prospect by plenty of scouts, and Drake Maye would probably be highly talked about in any other year.

The Bears know what they have in Fields, and he has shown enough for you to believe he can find success if you build around him. However, with just one more year under contract, paying him what a first-round pick quarterback usually gets on an extension would be a massive price and cap hit for the Bears to bear.

Williams has a higher ceiling than Fields, but there is definitely more of an unknown element and risk compared to knowing what Fields can already do. The decision between Fields on a big-money contract versus Williams on a rookie deal makes it a much easier choice, and the Bears are most likely going to trade Fields and draft Williams. Fields will land elsewhere to start and has the tools to find success, but it doesn't make sense to pay him big money over a potential upgrade on a rookie deal.

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