Re-ranking Justin Fields most likely destinations after latest QB carousel update

At some point, Justin Fields will have a new team to play for next season. The former first-round pick out of Ohio State by the Chicago Bears is almost certainly done playing for the Monsters of the Midway. It has nothing to do with his play itself, which has gotten better with each passing season, but rather the draft pick Chicago possesses. The Bears will take Caleb Williams No. 1 overall out of USC.

All offseason long, we have tried to put this dude on a team, bruh, but to no avail. While a return to Chicago is possible, it is still infinitely more likely that Fields is playing somewhere else next year. However, there have been a few moves of late that will impact Fields' potential trade market in an evolving quarterback carousel. Yes, this has to do with Baker Mayfield, Russell Wilson and Mac Jones.

Mayfield going back to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was obvious. What wasn't obvious was the Denver Broncos cutting Russell Wilson to eat all that dead cap before he signed for the veteran minimum with the Pittsburgh Steelers. To only further complicate things, the expectation is that the New England Patriots will be trading Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars once the new league year has arrived.

Let's re-rank the best fits for Fields in an offseason trade. It's only been a week, but a lot has changed.

5. Minnesota Vikings would be a good landing spot, but play in NFC North

Last week, I had the Minnesota Vikings as the fourth most likely trade destination for Fields. Again, I think the fit is good, but the fact that they play in the same division as the Bears only complicates things. While the Vikings are probably going to have to trade up from No. 11 to get a top-four quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft, that feels like the likelier option over trading for a guy like Fields.

For now, it seems as though Kirk Cousins' time in the Twin Cities are over, with all signs pointing to him signing with the Atlanta Falcons in his free agency. That would pave the way for Minnesota to either sign a veteran quarterback in free agency like a Sam Darnold, or even trade for Fields. To me, there is too much downside for Chicago to seriously consider shipping Fields to a bitter rival team.

If I had to venture to guess what will happen in Minnesota, the Vikings will let Cousins walk, they will try to sign someone like Darnold, before trading up from No. 11 to get a quarterback of the ilk of either Drake Maye out of North Carolina or J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan. It really comes down to who head coach Kevin O'Connell thinks will be the quarterback of the future for this Vikings team.

Fields would flourish playing for the Vikings, but the Bears' asking price would be far too step to do it.