Justin Fields: What they're saying in Chicago about trade to Steelers

Quarterback Justin Fields is a Pittsburgh Steeler.

After three tumultuous seasons in Chicago, the former Ohio State star is moving on from the Bears.

The Steelers traded a sixth-round draft pick in 2025 in exchange for Fields.

Here’s what they’re saying about the trade in Chicago.

“The trade market on Justin Fields dried faster than coaching jobs did for Bill Belichick,” wrote Scoop Jackson of the Chicago Sun Times. “It’s all boiled to this point of a modern era low-risk/lower-return gamble. And I write all this to say that, with Fields, the Bears may now have to settle on taking two ‘‘L’s’’: one for losing him and another for basically giving him away.”

Fields never worked out as a starter in Chicago, wrote Courtney Cronin of ESPN.

“Despite flashing potential, Fields never definitively answered the question as to whether he could become the Bears’ franchise quarterback.” she wrote. ” His mobility was among the best in the league among quarterbacks, but one knock against him was holding on to the ball too long, which often led to him being among the most sacked QBs in the NFL.”

The Steelers barely gave up anything to acquire Fields after sending Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, wrote Brad Briggs of the Chicago Tribune.

It’s pennies on the dollar for what the Bears paid to acquire Fields in 2021, when they traded up to select him at No. 11,” he wrote. “In comparison, the Bears flipped a sixth-round pick to the Miami Dolphins in August for interior offensive lineman Dan Feeney, the Sandburg High School product. Feeney played 91 snaps in 2023.

“Could general manager Ryan Poles have done better? Perhaps. But as quarterback jobs were filled around the league, other teams told the Bears how they felt about Fields.”

Fields was thrust into the starting role for the Bears during his rookie season. He could have benefited from a year on the bench, wrote Sam Householder of Windy City Gridiron.

“I can’t be the only fan wishing Fields well and hoping to see him reach his potential in Pittsburgh. Fields did everything asked of him and more,” he wrote. “He never outwardly complained. He’s rolled with more punches than a lot of players would.”