For the duration of the season, the Minnesota Vikings’ attempts to replace Kirk Cousins didn’t quite go as planned, but things are looking better for the offseason.
After Cousins suffered an Achilles injury, Minnesota assembled two career backups in Josh Dobbs and Nick Mullens, along with an unknown rookie in Jaren Hall, to create a patchwork defense. Instead of following the Cousins approach of staying put in the pocket and being able to make about any throw Kevin O’Connell can dream up, Dobbs and Hall are both mobility quarterbacks. The Vikings’ selection of that type of quarterback in the draft and before to the trade deadline could provide insight into the team’s thinking when it comes to selects its future quarterback.
In light of this, during an October 31 episode of 670 The Score’s Parkins & Spiegel Show, Peter King of NBC Sports raised the prospect that Minnesota will look to acquire Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields through trade.
“One would assume that, should Justin Fields go anywhere, the person trading for him would do so with the intention of allowing him to immediately compete for a starting position or play,” King stated. “Atlanta is the one team that truly catches my attention.” Minnesota is a different team that kind of jumps out to me. In the offseason, we’ll see what happens with Kirk Cousins.
In 2024, the Bears might select a first-round pick to replace Justin Fields.
Fields’ availability during the upcoming offseason is by no means guaranteed, but it is also a possibility.
The Bears, who are 2–6, would select third overall if the 2024 NFL Draft were to take place today. Nevertheless, Chicago would also possess the No. 2 selection as a result of a trade with the Carolina Panthers. Caleb Williams of USC and Drake Maye of North Carolina are the two most highly-touted quarterback prospects in the 2017 class. The Bears gave up the opportunity to select a quarterback early in 2023 by trading out of the top place, but it’s possible that they have since changed their minds.
Last season, Fields was an effective football runner from that position, amassing the second-highest ground yards (1,143) of any quarterback in NFL history. Prior to the start of the season, the most widely held belief about Fields was that Luke Getsy, the offensive coordinator for the Bears, would assist him in developing into a better passer, but that hasn’t happened.
Pro Football Reference reports that through six starts, Fields has completed 61.7% of his 162 completion attempts for 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. He has had difficulty maintaining eye contact, while Chicago’s offensive line performance has fluctuated between poor and terrible. It frequently appears as though Fields doesn’t trust what his eyes are telling him while he is viewing the field. This season, the inexperienced quarterback has missed numerous opportunities to deliver the ball to open wide receivers downfield or failed to even attempt to pass the ball to them.
Justin Fields is Tradeable to the Vikings at a Good Value
Nevertheless, Fields played as a passer in Week 6 against the Vikings and the Denver Broncos before spraining his thumb against the Washington Commanders. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus lacks O’Connell’s offensive acumen, and Minnesota’s pass catchers are far better than Chicago’s.
Fields’ $18.9 million, four-year rookie contract is currently in its third season of play. Chicago has the opportunity to execute Fields’ fifth-year team option and retain him in the organization through 2025 as a previous first-round pick (No. 11). That would also be an option for Minnesota.
Although the exact amount for that additional year won’t be known until the end of the season, it will undoubtedly exceed $20 million. Fields won’t be extremely expensive to acquire, but he also won’t be cheap.
Additionally, Fields’ trade value has decreased to that of a second-round pick as a result of his early-season troubles, as ESPN’s Bill Barnwell pointed out on October 19. This suggests that Minnesota may not need to spend a fortune on trade capital to get the quarterback.
Fields is an intriguing option for a team like the Vikings, who have more downfield weaponry than any other NFL team and can develop quarterbacks thanks to his contract status, trade value, and raw skill set.
Though the team decided not to offer Cousins a multiyear contract extension in either of the previous two offseasons, which doesn’t speak well for a new contract coming off of a catastrophic injury, the Vikings haven’t ruled out Cousins returning for his age-36 campaign in 2024.
In the upcoming weeks, Hall might come to light and put any rumors of a Fields trade in Minnesota to rest. If that doesn’t happen, though, the Vikings front office ought to be thinking about what it would take to get Fields on board already.
