Could the Philadelphia Eagles make a trade for Chicago Bears‘ QB Justin Fields?
According to one NFL analyst, the Birds make more sense than most other teams potentially available.
NFL Analyst Suggests Philadelphia Eagles Trade for Justin Fields
Michael Lombardi, once a long-time NFL executive, has joined in on several reports that the former 11th overall pick’s trade market isn’t as large as many may want to believe. With Fields’ struggles in his first three years as a starter with the Bears, several quarterback-needy teams have reportedly looked elsewhere to solve their roster hole instead of trading for the former Ohio State product.
To a three-time Super Bowl-winning executive like Lombardi, when a market for a young project like this is available, the Eagles are the one team that could always be interested.
During the 2020 NFL Draft, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman turned heads when he selected Jalen Hurts in the second round immediately after watching Carson Wentz lead the team to a division title.
Roseman’s “QB Factory” joke was an omen that followed the team through a 4-11-1 season that meant the end for Super Bowl-winning head coach Doug Pederson and Wentz in Philly.
Now, four years removed from the take, it appears Lombardi is bringing it back as a reason why the Eagles could be interested in a trade for Fields.
“There seems to not be a lot of momentum,” Lombardi said on The GM Shuffle podcast. “I talked to a lot of people at the Combine and I couldn’t find a team. If I were Philly because if you put him behind Hurts in a six-back offense, he might go out and play good.”
The Eagles almost exclusively used Hurts as a runner during his rookie season for package plays behind Wentz in 2020 before benching the former second-overall pick late in the season. Lombardi suggests that the team could do the same with Fields in 2024.
In three seasons with the Bears, Fields has compiled a 10-28 record while completing 60% of his passes. His 40:30 touchdown-to-interception ratio highlights dwindling numbers late in games where his completion percentage drops to below 52%.
Would a Trade Make Sense for the Eagles?
It’s easy to say that Roseman learned his lesson from the disastrous 2020 experience, but the Eagles have no legitimate backup to Hurts outside of 2023 sixth-round pick Tanner McKee.
While Philadelphia reportedly likes what they saw from McKee in the preseason last year, the organization will be back in the free agent market again to address the backup quarterback role.
Would this organization be willing to give up draft assets to acquire one, though? That part is unlikely — especially when you add in Philadelphia’s nearly $42 million in cap space that they have. If the market for Fields is as low as Lombardi, and several other major NFL analysts, have heard, then the Eagles won’t be a team that negotiates with themselves.
KEEP READING: NFL Trade Rumors — Insider Reports ‘No Clear Team’ for Bears QB Justin Fields
Chicago is in a difficult spot. They own the top overall pick that many expect to be USC’s Caleb Williams. They have also acknowledged they want to do right by their former first-round pick and make a decision early in the free-agent process. That could mean a trade or other ways to get Fields off the roster.
In any sense, with a small market to begin with, one former league executive isn’t ready to let people forget about the one team that loves to develop young and unproven quarterbacks.
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