SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Center:Another QB domino falls as Chicago Bears trade Justin Fields to Pittsburgh Steelers

Another quarterback domino has fallen.

The SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank CenterChicago Bears have traded former first-round pick Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the teams announced Saturday night.

The Steelers are sending the Bears a 2025 sixth-round pick that could become a fourth-round pick. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the pick becomes a fourth-rounder if Fields plays 51% of the offensive snaps this season.

The trade comes one day after the Steelers traded 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles. That move appeared to pave the way for free agent pickup Russell Wilson to start, but the Fields addition brings added intrigue to the Steelers' offseason.

Even if the Pittsburgh job is indeed Wilson's for 2024 — ESPN reported that was still the case — Fields, just 25 years old, gives the Steelers a potential quarterback of the future. The 11th overall pick in 2021 showed occasional flashes of brilliance in his three seasons in Chicago. How everything shakes out remains to be seen.

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For the Bears the calculus is more simple: With Fields now gone, they will be taking a quarterback with the first pick in the 2024 draft. USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, is the likely choice.

Saturday's trade brought closure to Fields' time in Chicago. The two sides parting ways (mostly) seemed inevitable ever since the Bears received the top pick in this year's draft via the Carolina Panthers — a selection that ended up in the Bears' hands after they stuck with Fields and traded out of the top spot in the 2023 draft.

Bears GM Ryan Poles said in the lead-up to free agency that the franchise wanted to "do right" by Fields. The Ohio State product said he was "tired of hearing the talk. I just want it to be over."

Now, it is.

"We have engaged in multiple trade conversations in recent weeks and believe trading Justin at this time to Pittsburgh is what is best for both Justin and the Bears," Poles said in a statement. "Today we spoke to Justin to inform him of the trade and the rationale behind it for us as a club. We want to thank him for his tireless dedication, leadership and all he poured into our franchise and community the last three years and wish him the best towards a long and successful NFL career."

Fields went 10-28 in his three seasons in Chicago, throwing for 6,675 yards and 40 touchdowns to 30 interceptions. He completed 60.3% of his passes. He also electrified on the ground, particularly in 2022 when he rushed for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns.

"Can't say thank you enough to the city of Chicago for taking me in and embracing me," Fields wrote on X. "Thank you to the entire Bears organization and ownership for allowing me the opportunity to be part of such a historic franchise. But most of all thank you to my all my brothers that I played with. You all were the reason I attacked each day the way I did.

"I can’t thank you all enough for what y'all have meant to me over the last 3 years through the ups and downs. I wish each one of you nothing but success. Ready for this next chapter!"

The Steelers will soon have to make a decision on Fields' fifth-year option. If they don't pick it up by the May 2 deadline (or agree to an extension), Fields will become a free agent after the 2024 season. Either way, the Steelers will have to determine if Fields is, in fact, their QB of the future. The Bears will keep searching for theirs when they officially go on the clock when the NFL draft begins April 25.