NFL insider calls out Chicago Bears for Justin Fields trade narrative

After what felt like months of speculation, the Chicago Bears finally traded Justin Fields and virtually locked themselves into selecting Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick of this upcoming NFL Draft. While Fields has talent, there's no disputing that this was the right move for the Bears to make.

While the Bears were finally able to trade Fields away, the package seemed very light. I mean, the Pittsburgh Steelers got more for Kenny Pickett than the Bears got for Fields. At first, it seemed like some more Bears incompetence, but a report came out suggesting that Pittsburgh was Fields' preferred destination and the Bears were doing right by him.

ESPN's Adam Schefter made an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show and confirmed that while that is somewhat true, the Bears doing right by him part was very overblown.

Justin Fields trade narrative is laughable after NFL Insider calls Bears out

Basically what this comes down to is if there was an actual good offer out there for the Bears to take, they would have. Schefter mentions the package that the Jets received for Sam Darnold back in 2021. New York received a 2021 sixth-round pick along with picks in the second and fourth rounds in 2022. Darnold, like Fields, was a former first-round pick who had his share of struggles with the Jets and Carolina was looking to give him a fresh start in a new situation.

What makes this pretty crazy is Fields showed more to begin his career than Darnold did, yet Darnold fetched a whole lot more in a trade package.

Yes, it's true, Fields wanted to go to Pittsburgh. Yes, it's true, the Bears were comfortable sending him where he wanted to go. No, they didn't turn down some crazy package just to do right by the player. If there was a Darnold-type of package out there, the Bears would've taken it and run. That package just wasn't available.

Maybe there was a deal out there that could've net Chicago a guaranteed fifth-round pick instead of the guaranteed sixth-round pick that they got, but from what Schefter had to say, it certainly sounds like the Bears didn't miss out on much, if anything, by sending Fields to his desired destination. They look good in the media, but they weren't quite as generous as initially perceived.