Getty Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears.
Current Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy was part of the brain trust for the Chicago Bears in 2021, when he served as head coach. That year, the Bears moved up in the NFL draft to select quarterback Justin Fields. Could a reunion between Nagy and Fields be in the cards?
At least one NFL insider thinks it’s a possibility.
In his MMQB column for Sports Illustrated on March 5, NFL insider Albert Breer noted that if the trade market for Fields continues to be murky, the Nagy-Fields connection might come into play.
“Two connections that are at least interesting to me on the Justin Fields front. One is former Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace, who drafted Fields and is now with the Atlanta Falcons (where I’ve heard the owner also likes Fields),” Breer wrote, adding:
“The other is former Bears coach Matt Nagy with the Kansas City Chiefs. If the bottom falls out on Fields’s market, would the Chiefs take him as a backup that they could, perhaps, develop? Andy Reid has always liked such projects at quarterback.”
Justin Fields Doesn’t Have Much of a Trade Market, According to Multiple Reports
“I’ve said all along that I’d be very surprised if the Bears didn’t go Caleb Williams at one..
I don’t think the market for Justin Fields is as robust as the Bears and he had thought”
With quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield headed toward free agency, many teams are waiting to see where both of them land before making a decision at the position. Veteran QB Russell Wilson also just became available after getting released by the Denver Broncos, so teams in need of a signal-caller will have multiple options.
With the Falcons also rumored to be interested in Cousins, whose wife is from the area, it may leave the trade market for Fields with very few takers.
“I don’t think the market for him right now is as robust as the Bears and he had thought,” NFL insider Adam Schefter said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on March 4.
“It appears his market is soft for now. It was hard to find strong interest from any team,” The Athletic’s Dianna Russini wrote about Fields’ market after attending the scouting combine.
Once free agency kicks off on March 13, this could all change, of course. But, as it stands, there don’t appear to be many teams willing to make a trade for Fields.
Would Justin Fields Be a Good Fit in Kansas City With the Chiefs?
That depends. With Patrick Mahomes under center, it’s highly unlikely Fields would ever see any action. After three years and enough flashes in Chicago, he’s surely looking to compete for a starting job somewhere. Going to Kansas City wouldn’t allow him to do that.
Could Fields wind up going the Mitch Trubisky route and head to a contender like the Buffalo Bills to learn under a top QB? Maybe, and the Chiefs would provide that.
Fields missed four games with a thumb injury last season. He finished with 2,562 yards passing, 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Always a threat with his legs, his 657 rushing yards and 5.3 yards per carry were ranked second amongst all QBs. But Fields still struggled to find open receivers and took far too many sacks, both of which hindered his play.
Fields’ 10.6 sack percentage was ranked 31st out of 32 starting quarterbacks. Still, he has a big fan in Nagy.
“I know one thing’s for sure: He’s going the right way with his growth, and that’s important,” Nagy said about Fields in February of 2024, per The Chicago Sun-Times.
“You look at some of the adversity he’s been through — and it’s not easy in Chicago. It’s gonna make him tougher. Whether he stays there or goes somewhere else, I know he’s very resilient, and he’s a great kid.”
Will Nagy’s affinity for Fields lead to a reunion? That’s unlikely, but you never know.