Now that the Super Bowl is in the rearview mirror and the Kansas City Chiefs have been crowned as champions once again, it is time to start looking towards the off-season for the NFL. There is going to be plenty of intrigue with player movement this year, and the excitement will rev up in March and April when free agency and the draft roll around.
NFL: Bears Are Officially On The Clock
As the #Bears head into the offseason, nothing is more important than this: Will they trade the No. 1 pick?
Sources say it would take a historical haul for them to move out of the top spot. And all that it means.
My story: https://t.co/blEmtze5E7https://t.co/blEmtze5E7
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 10, 2024
And the team that will be most talked about from now until then will likely be the Chicago Bears.
They are in an interesting spot. They weren’t the worst team in the NFL last year, winning five of their last eight regular season games to finish with a respectable 7-10 record after starting out 2-7. Chicago owns the rights to their own first round draft pick, which will be the 9th overall selection, but the discussion surrounding them during the first couple of months of the off-season will be about the 1st overall pick.
The Bears are technically already on the clock. They made a trade last offseason that garnered them a 2024 first round pick from the Carolina Panthers, who would up having the league’s worst record. Chicago is now free to take their pick from any of the available prospects, but it is not a guarantee that they stay up and make the selection.
The team already has a young quarterback in place, as they have been working on developing Justin Fields for the past three seasons. Things haven’t progressed as well as the team would have hoped with him, but he has shown flashes that are enough to convince some that he can in fact be the franchise signal caller going forward. But he hasn’t proved anything beyond the shadow of a doubt, and it is entirely possible that the Bears choose to select a quarterback prospect first overall, which would make Fields expendable.
Could The Steelers Be A Destination For Justin Fields?
𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗦: #Steelers HC Mike Tomlin is a “big fan” of #Bears quarterback Justin Fields, per @AdamSchefter on the @PatMcAfeeShow
The Steelers plan to bring in competition for Kenny Pickett this offseason. pic.twitter.com/7djc3uxc5q
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) February 12, 2024
According to a report from NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Pittsburgh Steelers could be a destination. During his appearance on the Pat McAfee show on Monday, Schefter explained that Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin is a “big fan” of Fields, which would open possibilities for the team in selecting a new quarterback going forward.
The Steelers were able to qualify for the playoffs in 2023 despite another poor season of quarterback play. Three different guys started games for Pittsburgh during the regular season, with Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph all getting playing time. None of them were impressive, and the team apparently wants to bring in some competition in order to push Pickett in training camp.
So would the Steelers be the NFL team to make a move for Justin Fields? There was news that came out on Monday that the team and Trubisky would be mutually parting ways, meaning that there is now an assumed open roster spot and empty chair in the quarterback room.
Could Fields be the one that the team brings in to fill the void?
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