Report: In blockbuster deals, the Chicago Bears might trade Justin Fields or the No. 1 pick to the Atlanta Falcons.
In terms of pre-draft selections, the Chicago Bears are well-positioned this year. They have first choice to select Caleb Williams, the best quarterback prospect from USC, in the NFL draft because they are ranked first overall. In addition, they might get a wealth of talent if they were to give up their first pick.
Conversely, despite the Bears’ embarrassing wealth predicament, they still had starting quarterback Justin Fields, who last season displayed significant growth and started to emerge as the field leader the front staff had long anticipated. They can trade Fields to a QB-hungry team for a respectable return if they select Williams.
It is said that Chicago has already received multiple suitors enquiring not only about Fields’ asking price but also about the asking price for the number one pick, given the seeming win-win situation.
The Atlanta Falcons are the lone team that is supposedly considering both trade alternatives.
Atlanta is a pretty good offensive squad overall, but they have been struggling at quarterback. To be a serious contender for the playoffs, they are in dire need of a good quarterback.
Want Justin Fields, Falcons?
The Falcons choose to add the gifted Fields to the squad and start him right away in a recent trade proposal that was initially made public by FanNation Falcon Report.
According to Falcon Report, which quotes Sportrac:
“For Fields, the Falcons would trade the Bears a second-round pick this year and a 2025 second-round pick with incentives that could become a first-round pick ‘based on production and playing time.'”
The next generation of quarterbacks Taylor Heinicke, who completed less than 60% of his passes with a rating in the 80s, was benched several times in favor of Desmond Ridder. This March, Spotrac says, “it’s a bleak outlook for an otherwise fairly talented roster, begging for an expensive quick fix.”
According to ESPN First Draft’s Mel Kiper Jr., Atlanta might even be open to trading Fields for their first choice (overall no. 8):
The Bears have a lot of flexibility in either scenario, but if it’s me, I’m taking Caleb Williams number one and trading Justin Fields. “If you trade Justin Fields to Atlanta, you could get the 8th pick overall, so you could have 1, 8, and [the Bears’ own] 9 and be able to recoup a second round pick by trading down with one of those two picks, either 8 or 9.”
Is Caleb Williams Really What the Falcons Want?
Conversely, the Falcons might potentially be willing to part up a sizable amount of draft capital in order to have the opportunity to choose Caleb Williams and establish him as their long-term starting quarterback.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon believes the Falcons will make a significant run in order to select Williams in this draft. According to him, the Bears will receive the No. 8 pick from Atlanta in 2024, as well as the first, second, third, and fourth rounds of the 2025 draft.
“The Bears could accept nothing more than a future first-round pick and a few Day 2 selections for the swap if they are certain they don’t want a quarterback and think they can get the guy they want at No. 8 or No. 9 or by packaging those two selections to move back up.
However, other teams will undoubtedly show interest, so the Bears will prudently drive a hard bargain, just as they did in their agreement with the Carolina Panthers last season.
A different trade proposal that the Bears would attempt to make in 2023 would be similar to the Panthers deal in that it would include draft picks for the number one choice in addition to a proven experienced star. It was first stated in the BFR Podcast and later re-published at ChicagoBearsHQ.com.
The Bears would give up their top pick in this particular trade for the veteran defensive end Grady Jarrett of the Falcons, along with their eighth pick this year, a second round pick in 2024, and their top picks in 2025 and 2026.
All of these ideas have one thing in common: the Bears would most likely win out. And it makes sense because this year will undoubtedly be a seller’s market for them.
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