Justin Fields trade: How contract, timing boxed Bears into smaller return than Steelers got for Kenny Pickett

Fields has one year left on his rookie contract, and the Bears chose the wrong time to make the trade

Late on Saturday evening, the Chicago Bears clarified their quarterback situation, sending a clear signal that they will be taking a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft by dealing incumbent starter Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional sixth-round pick that can become a fourth-rounder if Fields plays 51% of the Steelers' offensive snaps next season. 

One of the most common immediate reactions to the trade was to question how the Bears managed to get so little in return for Fields, who has struggled with inconsistency as a passer but has at least flashed high-level upside on occasion, and who has emerged as one of the premier rushing threats at the position. With Fields still just recently turning 25 years old, it's hard to believe there wasn't a more significant market for his services.

But according to ESPN, Chicago had sought a return similar to the one Sam Darnold fetched when he was traded to Carolina in 2021 (a sixth-round pick in 2022, plus second- and fourth-rounders in 2022) and instead ended up settling for merely a conditional Day 3 selection. Meanwhile, the Steelers traded their own incumbent starter, Kenny Pickett, to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a fourth-round pick in this year's draft, receiving a third-rounder and two 2025 seventh-round picks in return.