The Seattle Seahawks were viewed as a potential darkhorse team to get involved in the Justin Fields sweepstakes (if that’s even the right way to phrase it at this point), but after acquiring Sam Howell in a trade with the Washington Commanders, they are surely out of the running.
Howell will serve as Geno Smith’s backup in Seattle, and the Seahawks could also always take a quarterback with the 16th overall pick in the NFL Draft next month.
But the chances of them calling up the Chicago Bears to inquire about Fields are now slim to none.
Of course, there is a possibility that Seattle already discussed Fields with the Bears but did not like the asking price. Or maybe the Seahawks really preferred Howell?
If it’s the latter, that’s terribly bad news for Chicago, which is obviously hoping to unload Fields in order to clear the way for it to take USC’s Caleb Williams with the top overall pick in six weeks.
The problem for the Bears is that they have little to no leverage in trade talks.
Just about everyone knows Chicago will be selecting Williams. There is a chance that the Bears throw us a curveball and trade the pick, but, more than likely, they will be rolling with Williams.
Chicago took Fields with the 11th pick back in 2021, but he has gone just 10-28 as a starter. While he has demonstrated some promise, he has not shown it consistently enough to warrant the Bears passing on the opportunity to add Williams.
Most of the teams that looked like potential landing spots for Fields have already found quarterbacks. The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Russell Wilson. The Atlanta Falcons landed Kirk Cousins. The Las Vegas Raiders brought in some Aidan O’Connell competition in the form of Gardner Minshew. Heck, the New York Jets inked Tyrod Taylor as a backup to Aaron Rodgers.
The Seahawks were one of the only seemingly legitimate destinations remaining, and now, we can probably remove their name from the list after they swung a deal for Howell.
So, who is left?
Perhaps the Los Angeles Rams can make a run at Fields. Matthew Stafford is in the twilight of his career, and the Rams don’t exactly have any insurance behind him.
Sean McVay is known as a quarterback whisperer, so maybe he can convince Los Angeles’ front office to trade for Fields as Stafford’s eventual successor?
There are certainly teams in need of a signal-caller, such as the Commanders, the New England Patriots and the New York Giants, but those clubs will almost certainly be taking a quarterback in the draft.
The market for Justin Fields was a puddle going into Thursday. Now, it’s barely a droplet.
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