Getty The Seahawks have been open about adding another QB despite re-signing Geno Smith.
The Seattle Seahawks could emerge as a surprising destination for the top dual-threat quarterback in the league.
As mentioned by CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields could be a possible trade piece entering the 2023 NFL draft. The Bears possess the No. 1 overall pick after finishing with the league’s worst record at 3-14. Despite the team’s struggles, Fields has shown his dual-threat abilities, impressing observers while rushing for 1,143 yards this past season — the most of any quarterback in the NFL.
In a hypothetical scenario, the Bears could select a quarterback with the No. 1 overall selection in the draft and trade Fields. That leaves one of the “quarterback-needy” teams — such as the Seahawks — without one of the top three quarterback prospects in C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young and Will Levis.
That could entice the Seahawks into being interested in a trade for Fields.
“One of the perceived top-three quarterback prospects (Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Kentucky’s Will Levis) is off the board, which leaves quarterback-needy teams like Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Carolina and potentially Detroit and Seattle jockeying for those available players,” said Edwards. “Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson and Fields fall into that next bucket of ‘high upside with baggage,’ whether that be a running clock on a rookie contract or a player with a long road of necessary development ahead of him. The aforementioned teams that do not land one of those three rookie quarterbacks could be interested in Fields.”
Cost of Trading for Justin Fields Likely Multiple Draft Picks
Because Fields has three years left on his rookie contract — assuming the team exercises the fifth-year option on his deal — he possesses a ton of value for whichever franchise decides to make a move for him. As Edwards notes, such a trade involving Fields is rare, which makes it hard to determine just how much he’d be worth in a potential draft day trade.
The Seahawks feature ton of draft assets as a result of their trade with the Denver Broncos featuring Russell Wilson. Seattle will have a top-five draft pick (via the Broncos) in addition to their own first-round draft pick this year. That’s not even mentioning how they’ll feature an extra second-round draft pick this year (also from the Broncos).
As Edwards mentions, a potential trade involving Fields will likely include a late first-round draft pick and potentially a few Day 2 picks.
“Chicago is unlikely to receive a pick in the top half of the first round so it is more likely that it would fetch a late first-round pick or potentially a few Day 2 choices,” says Edwards.
Will the Seahawks Have a Need for Justin Fields?
There’s little doubt that Fields is one of the few special quarterbacks in the league. While his passing skills leave room for improvement — he completed 60.4 percent of his passes while throwing 17 touchdowns versus 11 interceptions — he’s arguably the best running quarterback in the league.
The question is, will the Seahawks have a need for Fields?
Seattle is currently in the midst of attempting to re-sign quarterback Geno Smith. Smith recently gave an update on contract talks between both sides, revealing that talks are going well.
“We’ve had talks and we’re in the process of getting all that settled right now,” Smith said from the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas. “It’s looking very good. We think we can get some things done, but obviously those things take time. This is the process that I hate about the NFL because I just want to play football, but it’s a business as well, so we’ve got to take care of business and then we’ll get back to the football.”
If the Seahawks do strike out on Smith, the need for a new franchise quarterback — such as Fields — is a necessity. If Seattle does re-sign Smith, it’s a hard scenario to envision the Seahawks acquiring Fields to play backup to Smith for a year or two.
The idea of Seattle acquiring Fields is an unlikely one. But if the Seahawks miss out on Smith, it becomes a plausible scenario if the Bears choose to move on from Fields for a rookie quarterback.