Bears GM says he tried to help Justin Fields with trade to Steelers - ESPN

ORLANDO, Fla. — Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles was expecting a more robust trade market for Justin Fields before the team traded the quarterback to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

«I was a little bit surprised,» Poles said at the NFL's league meetings on Monday. «But as you do research and we have conversations, you have to kind of adjust to the market. But I think just with how other teams are built, because if you look at the beginning, there are probably teams that are looking at the draft for guys to fill in. On the back end, playoff teams probably have someone in place. So really it was a smaller pool of teams.»

Chicago received a 2025 conditional sixth round pick that can become a fourth rounder if Fields plays 51% of Pittsburgh's offensive snaps this season. While Steelers coach Mike Tomlin confirmed Sunday that quarterback Russell Wilson holds the «pole position» as the starter, Fields will «have the opportunity to compete» when the time is right.

A source with knowledge of the team's plans told ESPN the Bears had initially eyed a Day 2 draft selection plus a late conditional 2025 pick. Six teams, including Pittsburgh, came with a variety of offers, with most envisioning Fields as a backup.

Poles on Monday said the Bears received offers from teams other than Pittsburgh but he felt the opportunity to send Fields to a place with a clearer path to compete was doing right by the 25-year-old quarterback.

«They have a starter with Russ, but there was more of an open competition it felt like from my perspective where there were other opportunities where there were some quarterbacks that were either veteran guys or young guys that had already been paid, so it would have been a tougher situation for him to get on the