NFL Quarterback Market Report: Bears, Jets Might Have To Simply Release Justin Fields, Zach Wilson

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles two weeks ago was unsure whether he was trading starting quarterback Justin Fields or to whom. All he knew was he wanted to have certainty sooner rather than later.

Maybe even by the start of the NFL free agency period.

"I would love to know as soon as possible, I would love to now," Poles said. "But I know that's not how the process works. Sure, before free agency would be good.

"If we were to do something with Justin, I want to do right by him. And I know, again, living in that gray space, we would want to do something sooner rather than later. But just like contracts, it takes two teams to figure that out."

General manager Ryan Poles of the Chicago Bears. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Poles Desire For Quick Solution Disappears

Well, the situation is getting a little strange for Poles. And the Bears. And Fields.

The start of free agency has come and gone. So much for that timeline.

And other teams with a say in the matter have so far spoken quite clearly by showing no taste for taking Fields at whatever price the Bears are asking. 

Maybe that's because no team has been sufficiently interested in Fields as a potential starter. And lately, there's not even any interest in him even as a potential backup.

The Fields trade market is collapsing.

Poles initially imagined he might get a decent pick for Fields. But the Bears now would probably be lucky to get an exchange of a few draft slots for the trouble of trading Fields. Or maybe they'd get a player some other club simply doesn't want anymore.

That's the going rate now for quarterbacks that are uncomfortable to keep. And Fields is that because the Bears are going to draft Caleb Williams with the first overall pick and keeping Fields in the same locker room is unfair to both him and the rookie.

The Washington Commanders and Atlanta Falcons showed us what the market for Fields might be now. 

The Commanders on Thursday traded away 2023 starter Sam Howell to the Seattle Seahawks in an exchange of picks. 

Seahawks And Commanders Make Howell Trade

Howell was a failed experiment for Washington last season. He effectively helped get people fired. And because the Commanders signed Marcus Mariota as their backup and are going to draft a quarterback, they had to move on. So the trade to Seattle gives the Seahawks a possible backup while relieving the Commanders of a redundant QB.

The Falcons on Thursday agreed to trade for wide receiver Rondale Moore from the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for Desmond Ridder. That exchange was necessary in Atlanta because Kirk Cousins is the new starter after Ridder failed as the starter there last year.

So two teams got out of uncomfortable QB situations. Two other teams found likely backup quarterbacks.

And Fields and the Bears remained in that gray area Poles described.

That gray, by the way, is actually getting kind of dark. And bleak. Because teams are mostly beyond the point of looking for starting quarterbacks and are quickly filling backup slots. 

Justin Fields faced constant pressure against the Seahawks. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Fields Is A Backup, Perhaps With Eagles

As OutKick pointed out last week, Fields wasn't destined for a starter's role in 2024 anyway. He was maybe headed to a backup job, with the Eagles seeming like a good fit.

And, sure enough, as the Steelers, with Russell Wilson, and Falcons, with Cousins, have made their plans, the obvious Fields landing spots to start have all but dried up.

The open spots for a backup job are similarly disappearing: The Raiders (Gardner Minshew), Vikings (Sam Darnold), Giants (Drew Lock), Browns (Jameis Winston), Titans (Mason Rudolph), Jets (Tyrod Taylor), Patriots (Jacoby Brissett), Commanders (Marcus Mariota) as well as the Cardinals and Seahawks have filled those slots. 

Even Mac Jones was traded to Jacksonville to be Trevor Lawrence's backup.

So, we have a scenario where only the Eagles and maybe the Broncos are searching for a backup. This while New England, Washington, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas and Minnesota are likely looking to the draft to find potential starter.

Will Zach Wilson be traded? (Credit: USA Today Sports Network)

No Takers For Zach Wilson Either

This leaves Fields in the inglorious company of Jets erstwhile starter Zach Wilson.

And, no, that's not the kind of company any quarterback wants to be in.

Wilson failed with the Jets. That became clear when the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft lost his starting job to Aaron Rodgers last offseason. And when he was forced to play after Rodgers lasted only four snaps in the season-opener, Wilson showed only rare glimpses of being merely functional.

Wilson was benched multiple times in 2023 and the Jets are, in a word, done with him.

His problem is no one else so far is willing to consider him in a trade. And that despite the fact his agent has permission to shop for a trade partner.

So Wilson could simply be released because, like Fields, trading him is growing harder and keeping him is uncomfortable.