QB Wanted Trade to Vikings for Projected $283 Million: Report
The Minnesota Vikings seem to be fully committed to selecting their quarterback of the future in the first round of the April draft; yet, the team passed on another good possibility.
Almost immediately after free agency started, Kirk Cousins joined with the Atlanta Falcons, vacating the starting position in Minnesota. The Chicago Bears had just begun shopping quarterback Justin Fields and were coming to terms with the possibility of not receiving a second-round pick in a deal.
In the end, Fields was sold by the Bears to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025, which becomes a fourth-round pick should he play five percent of the offensive snaps for the team in 2024. Chicago decided to “do right” by Fields, at least in part, because general manager Ryan Poles wanted to fulfill his promise.
It turned out that meant getting Fields moved as soon as possible to one of four locations that the quarterback thought would be ideal for his long-term. ESPN’s Brooke Pryor lists Pittsburgh as one of them, but Minnesota was also one of them.
According to a source familiar with Fields’ thinking, the Vikings, Raiders, and Steelers were among the four clubs on Fields’ radar before free agency began. Pryor wrote this on Friday, March 29.
Justin Fields Could Have Been Acquired by the Vikings for a Day 3 Draft Pick
It is unclear if the Vikings and the Bears ever had any kind of negotiations regarding a possible trade for Fields, but it is hard to imagine that head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah were unaware that Fields was considering Minnesota as one of his top four options.
Although the initial outlay would have been less than what the team would have paid to select a quarterback in the upcoming NFL draft, the math on a Fields deal would have been difficult for the Vikings.
Minnesota most likely would have had to outbid the Steelers for Fields. They could have done so, though, by giving Chicago only a fifth-round selection with terms that elevated it to a fourth-round selection.
Rather, Minnesota obtained the No. 23 overall pick earlier this month by trading two seconds and a sixth to the Houston Texans. The majority of observers predict that the Vikings made this move because they plan to bundle that pick with their No. 11 pick in an attempt to choose a prospect like J.J. McCarthy or Drake Maye and climb into the top five. Depending on how high the Vikings try to trade and what kind of competition there is for that draft spot, doing so might ultimately cost Minnesota a 2025 first-round pick as well.
By declining to trade for Justin Fields, the Vikings were able to avoid making important financial decisions at the quarterback position.
That being said, Fields will probably cost a lot more in the near future.
Fields’ $18.9 million rookie contract has $3.2 million left on it after the Steelers acquired him, which is a great deal for the former No. 11 overall choice. But they also traded for the team’s decision regarding Fields’ $25.7 fifth-year option, which they have to make by the beginning of May.
Fields will become a free agent in March 2025 if Pittsburgh chooses not to exercise that option. At that point, Spotrac puts the former Bears starter’s market worth at north of $47 million per year over a new six-year contract ($283.2 million total). That makes the player extremely pricey.
Minnesota’s choice to stay out of a trade for Fields spared it all those important financial decisions. Additionally, the Vikings averted the possibility of having to start the quarterback search over in 2025 by exchanging a Day-3 pick for one season of a quarterback they might not want to re-sign, at least not at Fields’ desired number.
In the event that Minnesota acquires a top rookie prospect, the player will sign a four-year rookie contract with a fifth-year option that the Vikings can exercise. The deal will be cost-controlled. Sam Darnold might now have to start for the team in 2024, which isn’t ideal for a roster that has so many talented pass catchers.
Leave a Reply