Bears' Poles 'Surprised' Justin Fields Trade Market Was So Small Before Steelers Deal

Prior to trading quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles was expecting to see a more robust market for the 25-year-old.

"I was a little bit surprised," Poles said at the NFL league meeting Monday, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "But as you do research and we have conversations, you have to kind of adjust to the market."

Poles went on to add that there were a number of factors that likely played into the lack of interest in Fields from teams around the league.

"But I think just with how other teams are built, because if you look at the beginning, there are probably teams that are looking at the draft for guys to fill in. On the back end, playoff teams probably have someone in place," he said. "So really it was a smaller pool of teams."

According to Cronin, the Bears "had initially eyed a Day 2 draft selection plus a late conditional 2025 pick" for Fields and received "a variety of offers" from six teams, including the Steelers.

Chicago shipped Fields to Pittsburgh in exchange for a conditional 2025 sixth-round draft pick that can become a fourth-round pick if he plays in 51 percent of the offensive snaps during the 2024 season. Fields is expected to be the backup to Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, but head coach Mike Tomlin said the fourth-year signal-caller will "have the opportunity to compete" at some point.

Poles said the team was intent on doing right by Fields by sending him to a situation where he would have a fair chance to compete.

"They have a starter with Russ but there was more of an open competition, it felt like from my perspective, where there were other opportunities where there were some quarterbacks that were either veteran guys or young guys that had already been paid, so it would have been a tougher situation for him to get on the field," he said.

To replace Fields, Chicago is expected to use the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft to select USC star quarterback Caleb Williams. Poles said he was impressed after spending time with the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner last week ahead of USC's pro day.

"When you talk to his teammates, they don't like him, they love him," Poles said. "His leadership, how he brings people together. He's intentional with his leadership. Same goes with the staff. I'm having a hard time finding a person that doesn't like him or even love him and thinks that he can reach the highest limits. The feedback's been good."