Bears Need to Be More Aggressive in Shopping Justin Fields amid NFL Trade Rumors

The NFL's legal tampering period for free agency began Monday afternoon, and teams wasted no time making big moves. Several quarterbacks came off the market, and because of that, the list of potential landing spots for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields took a hit.

The Atlanta Falcons are signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal (per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero). The Pittsburgh Steelers are inking Russell Wilson to a one-year contract worth the veteran's minimum (per ESPN's Adam Schefter). Gardner Minshew is signing with the Las Vegas Raiders for $25 million over two years (per Pelissero).

So the Bears should probably move fast to trade Fields. The problem is, they haven't really started to move at all, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

"They seem to be open to trading Fields, they're really not yet engaged, really not yet started that process," Rapoport said on NFL Network on Monday (h/t Swift Sports Network on X). "They want to make sure that Caleb Williams is their guy at No. 1."

That shouldn't be a hard decision to come to. Williams is the clear top quarterback in the 2024 draft class, and he'll be there for the taking when Chicago is on the clock at No. 1 overall on April 25 in Detroit.

The 22-year-old Williams is a legitimate franchise QB who impressed the past two seasons at USC. And he could help lead the Bears to greater heights, should they decide to use the top selection on him.

It makes the most sense for Chicago to draft Williams and trade Fields, who was a first-round pick in the 2021 draft. The 25-year-old Fields hasn't quite filled his potential over his first three NFL seasons, and it could be beneficial for him to get a change of scenery.

However, there aren't many new quarterback-empty sceneries out there. The Minnesota Vikings need a QB after losing Cousins in free agency, while the Denver Broncos are without a quarterback after releasing Wilson.

Would the Bears even consider trading Fields to the NFC North rival Vikings? It seems a bit unlikely they'd want to send a quarterback who could still have a bright future to one of their division foes.

Denver could be a good landing spot for Fields. But Chicago would need to work to make a trade come to fruition.

It's possible that Fields' trade value may not be too high, especially if other teams know the Bears are hoping to get rid of him to clear a spot for Williams. But if he doesn't have a long-term future in Chicago, the team should just move him now rather than keep him on the bench as a backup.

Williams is likely a Day 1 starter, so the Bears won't need Fields as a bridge quarterback, either.

So it's time for Chicago to be aggressively shopping Fields on the trade market. Otherwise, more potential landing spots will be filled, which will make it even harder for a move to be made.