The Chicago Bears officially wrapped up the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft after the Carolina Panthers lost yet again in Week 17. The Bears own the Panthers’ first-rounder this year after trading last year’s top pick to the Panthers so they could draft Bryce Young. Now, if the franchise wants, they can use this pick to draft their franchise quarterback. This would mean the Bears also making a Justin Field trade, and the Atlanta Falcons could be an ideal landing spot.
“One AFC executive sees Atlanta as a good fit for Fields, who he believes would thrive in a system with designed quarterback runs, or one inspired by the Gary Kubiak coaching tree that creates off play-action,” ESPN Jeremy Fowler and Courtney Cronin reported on Tuesday. “Falcons coach Arthur Smith was Tennessee's offensive coordinator during Ryan Tannehill's best stretch as an NFL quarterback. While Fields has superior physical tools to Tannehill, both can be schemed in similar ways as mobile players with plus arm strength.”
A potential Bears-Falcons Justin Fields trade brings up several interesting questions. Why would the Bears do this? What would the Falcons have to give up? And is Atlanta really a good fit for Fields?
Here are a few of those answers as it stands in the early days of 2024.
Does a Justin Fields trade between the Bears and Falcons make sense?
For the Bears, a Justin Fields trade does make sense on several levels. Of course, when drafting a QB, it’s a complete crapshoot as to how it turns out. Still, Caleb Williams and Drake Maye are both big-time prospects with better pedigrees coming out of college than Fields had.
And as good as Fields has been down the stretch, the biggest reason the Bears could want to move him is his contract. As the No. 11 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Fields is just one season away from getting a fifth-year option for $21.9 million, and just two years away from getting an extension that – if he’s even halfway decent — will be worth north of $40 million a year.
A rookie QB resets the contract clock and gives the Bears four more years to build a powerhouse.
As for what the Falcons will have to give up, Fowler and Cronin report that “The consensus in an informal poll of league evaluators is that Fields would be worth a second- or third-round pick in a pre-draft trade.”
Finally, Fields could work in Atlanta with the weapons they have as long as he gets the right coach. While some may think Arthur Smith is that guy, he may not make it to the 2024 NFL Draft, and who the franchise brings in next could make or break a Fields deal.
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