Around the NFL - FA tampering/start

Cousins game has improved, you don't see as many of the glaring errors that marred his time in DC. But he is coming off an ACL, and I don't think you can assume he will come back at the same level. It is quite a gamble for Atlanta.

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Achilles, not ACL. And it's not like he's a running QB. No reason, barring his arm strength dropping off, to suggest he won't be physically capable.

the Justin fields situation is getting interesting, not many suitors left

the Justin fields situation is getting interesting, not many suitors left

Everyone knows/assumes they're drafting CW so his trade value is low while there are FAs available.

Falcons and Steelers probably felt known quantity in a vet (or plain cheap) Better than reaching in the draft. Interesting thing will be whether Steelers think Pickett is redeemable? Are they both just waiting on 25 or 26 draft to go QB again?

Reckon Fields goes to the AFC, Jets (upgrade on Wilson as backup/future starter), Broncos or Pats (though they probably draft QB).

Everyone knows/assumes they're drafting CW so his trade value is low while there are FAs available.

Falcons and Steelers probably felt known quantity in a vet (or plain cheap) Better than reaching in the draft. Interesting thing will be whether Steelers think Pickett is redeemable? Are they both just waiting on 25 or 26 draft to go QB again?

Reckon Fields goes to the AFC, Jets (upgrade on Wilson as backup/future starter), Broncos or Pats (though they probably draft QB).

not sure that sets the market, it was more the teams interested in fields that would set his value and that number has diminished

i think LV grabs him and he competes with Gardner

Let's end with a quarterback whose market might have closed before it ever opened. Heading into the weekend, it seemed like Fields might be the solution in a number of places. He's in limbo as the Bears appear destined to draft a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick. Cousins was going to be the most prominent domino, but there were a handful of teams that could easily justify taking a shot on Fields' upside versus the other options available.

One by one, those options fell by the wayside. Before the tampering period opened, the Steelers signed Wilson and the Bucs brought back Mayfield. Two potential landing spots for Fields were gone before Monday even began.

It got worse. The Falcons, who had been perhaps the team most heavily linked to Fields, won their bidding war for Cousins. The Raiders, who hired former Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, signed Gardner Minshew to a two-year, $25 million deal. The potential of a bridge job in New England went by the wayside when the Pats added Brissett. The Vikings loomed as an unlikely-but-logical trade candidate, but they seemed to signal their desire to go in a different direction by signing Darnold.

If we assume the top three teams in the draft are taking quarterbacks, there's only one starting job left. That's in Denver, where the Broncos saw Fields complete his first 16 passes and throw for four touchdowns last season before eventually fumbling away a late lead. Most observers have linked Sean Payton & Co. to a quarterback in April's draft, and they already have Jarrett Stidham on site as a potential bridge starter or primary backup. I haven't spoken to many people around the NFL who felt like Fields was a great fit for a Payton offense, and Denver doesn't seem to be a likely landing spot.

If not Denver, though, where does Fields end up? You could suggest the Giants and Titans should consider bringing him in as part of a potential quarterback competition in camp, although they're both invested in other quarterbacks and aren't likely to give up the sort of draft capital the Bears were hoping to land as part of a Fields pact. Maybe you stretch that idea further and consider the Browns or Seahawks as possible landing spots, but that would really be more as a backup. None of those teams are going to be picking up his fifth-year option, which means he's coming in as a one-year rental.

Is there a point when the Bears should just consider holding on to Fields? Maybe. He has his supporters in Chicago, although it's difficult to imagine the fan base clamoring for him to step back in during Caleb Williams' rookie season. The Bears would decline Fields' fifth-year option and pay him $3.2 million to serve as the backup in 2024 before losing him in free agency; that could produce a modest compensatory pick, although I would suspect they would offset that pick by signing free agents themselves. Having Fields as the backup would be useful, but it would only be the best use of resources if they weren't able to land any sort of meaningful draft compensation for him via trade.

Unfortunately for Fields, the best thing for the Bears to do might be wait. While he isn't going to get a Sam Bradford-style first-round pick for Fields, general manager Ryan Poles might want to hold onto the quarterback until after the draft to see whether a team such as the Broncos fails to land a rookie quarterback or into camp to see if someone loses a signal-caller to injury. That's not going to be the best thing for Fields' development, but at this point, I'm not sure he has a clear path to regular work anywhere.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/39711198/2024-nfl-free-agency-winners-losers-barkley-burns-eagles-panthers-dolphins-contracts-deals-trades#fields

If the Bears were serious about drafting Caleb Williams, you would think they would have been more serious about trading Fields before the start of free agency. Their asking price must be unreasonable.

Weird situation at the moment - even more weird than it's been the last few months...

If the Bears were serious about drafting Caleb Williams, you would think they would have been more serious about trading Fields before the start of free agency. Their asking price must be unreasonable.

Weird situation at the moment - even more weird than it's been the last few months...

I think they outsmarted themselves, it was reported at the time of the combine that they were waiting for a team to miss out on a QB in free agency so they could get a better return from a panicking team. If true, Fields must be fuming right now.

I think they outsmarted themselves, it was reported at the time of the combine that they were waiting for a team to miss out on a QB in free agency so they could get a better return from a panicking team. If true, Fields must be fuming right now.

the Bears are one of the if not worst run teams in this league, no wonder there are rumors CW wants no part of them, i have full confidence whom ever they draft is doomed.

That is just sour grapes. His play has been elite, just not successful in getting to the Superbowl (wouldn't be the 1st and probably not the last elite QB in that boat).

Elite? ROFL.

Cousins is the king of garbage time stats. I'll upgrade his play from mediocre to above average that but that's it. Man isn't clutch at all though.

He’s not elite, but he’s not mediocre either. The truth is in the middle somewhere.