The Atlanta Falcons are in need of a quarterback, so placing a call to the Chicago Bears to inquire about the availability of Justin Fields may not be the worst idea.
Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports suggests that the Falcons should do just that, proposing that Atlanta sends a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 third-rounder that becomes a second-rounder if Fields plays 75 percent of the snaps and becomes a first-round pick if the Falcons make the playoffs in 2025.
That’s certainly a mouthful, but it is an intriguing proposition, nonetheless.
Fields is coming off of a 2023 campaign in which he made 13 starts and threw for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 61.4 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 86.3. He also rushed for 657 yards and four scores.
The 24-year-old was showing signs of his tantalizing potential this past season, but a dislocated thumb that caused him to miss four games threw a wrench into what could have been a breakout campaign.
The Bears own the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft courtesy of their trade with the Carolina Panthers last year, and they are widely expected to take USC’s Caleb Williams with the top selection.
That would obviously leave no room for Fields, who wouldn’t stick around to be Williams’ backup.
Atlanta seems to be one of the most realistic destinations for Fields, as the Desmond Ridder experiment has not gone according to plan.
The Falcons could always draft a quarterback themselves, but barring a trade, they won’t be able to take Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye, who are expected to go one and two.
Atlanta owns the eighth overall pick, so LSU’s Jayden Daniels is a possibility, but the Falcons may also want to try and snare Fields in a trade and use the No. 8 selection to improve the roster elsewhere.
One thing is for sure: Justin Fields will be one of the most interesting players to monitor in the coming months.
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