(670 The Score) Quarterback Justin Fields sat inside a spacious living room late on a Thursday night, put a Chicago Bears hat over his head for the first time as a professional and pondered what was next.
Fields had just been selected by the Bears with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, immediately becoming the next great hope for a franchise that has a tortured quarterback history.
Chicago believed this time it would be different, and Fields did too.
"The way I carry myself, the way I care about the game, the grit I have, the determination to be great," Fields said.
“Wanting to be a franchise quarterback. I've been dreaming for this moment my whole life."
Nearly three years later, the Fields era in Chicago came to an unfulfilling end. The Bears traded Fields to the Steelers on Saturday evening for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025. That selection can become a fourth-round pick if Fields plays 51% or more of Pittsburgh’s snaps at quarterback in the 2024 season.
The trade itself wasn’t a surprise given the Bears’ desire to select a prized quarterback prospect — almost certainly USC's Caleb Williams — with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, but the return was still startling.
As we reflect on the complex case of Fields, multiple statements can be true. The Bears failed Fields in his development, and Fields was never going to be great.
The Bears deserve blame for the football leaders they had in place when they welcomed Fields into the franchise in late April 2021. Chairman George McCaskey and then-president Ted Phillips allowed then-general manager Ryan Pace and then-head coach Matt Nagy to enter a lame-duck season in their respective positions, and Pace and Nagy were naturally more focused on saving their jobs than doing what was best for Fields.
There was no clear succession plan for the starting quarterback role and when it was best for Fields fill it. Pace and Nagy put their futures first before the Bears’ development plan at quarterback. The Bears should've already dismissed both of them by then, as it was clear change was needed. Making the situation more frustrating was that McCaskey and Phillips had watched the same malpractice play out under former head coach John Fox and his staff in 2017 with then-rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky, the No. 2 overall pick, and yet they signed off on it again with Fields’ future.
After the Bears fired Pace and Nagy following the 2021 season, new general manager Ryan Poles set course on a rebuilding plan that he believed was best for the organization – even if it wasn’t necessarily best for Fields. Poles gutted most of the roster that he inherited and focused on the long-term vision rather than the short-term outlook.
It created a difficult situation for Fields as the Bears went an NFL-worst 3-14 in 2022. The Bears' leading receiver in 2022 was tight end Cole Kmet with 50 receptions. Top receiver Darnell Mooney had only 40 catches. The Bears' other wide receivers included Dante Pettis, Chase Claypool, Equanimeous St. Brown and Velus Jones Jr., which represented a weak supporting cast that never gave Fields the opportunity to shine.
That all led to Fields' pivotal third NFL season in 2023, when he was asked to prove himself as the Bears’ quarterback. He showcased growth, in part thanks to the addition of star receiver DJ Moore, but Fields fell well short of revealing himself to be a franchise quarterback.
In Fields' three seasons in Chicago – comprising 40 games, 38 starts and countless practice snaps – the truth became undeniable for Poles and his brass. Fields’ fatal flaw was that he struggled to process reads from the pocket. Despite his immense talents and indisputable work ethic, he couldn’t overcome that.
In 2023, Fields had the longest release time of all NFL starting quarterbacks, taking an average of 2.8 seconds per dropback. He was sacked on 10.8% of his dropbacks, which was near the worst rate in the league. In 2022, Fields averaged 2.7 seconds per dropback and was sacked a league-worst 14.7% of the time.
Fields often had the time necessary to make a throw, but the struggles to process slowed him down. He would often tuck the football away and run, showing flares of the spectacular in doing so. But even Fields himself admitted he wanted to be a prolific passer rather than a dynamic rusher.
While Fields did make highlight-reel plays and improve, the Bears’ brass also saw on film how he would miss the openings to make a throw. What they saw was that the breakdown of a play they believed would be successful was often caused by indecisiveness from their quarterback.
The rest of the NFL could see it too. As Poles shopped Fields for a trade over the last month, there was little interest in acquiring him. This draft class is deep in quarterback options, and veterans like Russell Wilson (Steelers) and Kirk Cousins (Falcons) also signed with new teams.
Poles couldn’t find a trade partner that believed Fields was anything more than a talented backup quarterback. As Poles indeed sought to “do right by Justin," as he stated in February, a deal with the Steelers was the best option for everybody involved. The Bears never fielded an enticing offer for Fields because there was no demand to acquire him.
The conversation surrounding the Bears' quarterback situation engulfed the fan base for the past several months, with Fields’ defenders and Williams’ believers divided. The rhetoric was heated in large part because Fields himself was a polarizing player on the field.
Three years ago when Fields was drafted, there was warranted belief that he could become the greatest quarterback in Bears franchise history. A few still even clung to that hope until Saturday evening.
For many reasons and because of blame that can be shared all around, Fields never became that long-coveted franchise quarterback in Chicago.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 .
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