Getty ESPN has a proposed trade that would make Justin Fields the next Raiders quarterback.
It’s easy to see the many sides of the debate around just how good a quarterback the Bears’ Justin Fields is reflected in the Raiders—a team that has, of course, never employed Fields. But there’s some buzz about the possibility that Fields could, eventually, become the Raiders’ quarterback of the future.
It was the Raiders, after all, who hired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Last year, Getsy was charged with developing Fields into a better pocket passer, an experiment that flopped badly. But seeing as the Raiders hired Getsy anyway, it is clear they pinned the blame for that failure on Fields, not on Getsy.
Yet at ESPN, veteran insider Field Yates has the Raiders reuniting Getsy and Fields, a quarterback so polarizing that half the Bears organization appears ready to move forward with him (even as a projected $238 million contract looms) and the other half is eager to throw him over in favor of drafting Caleb Williams with the top pick.
In a proposed deal he published on Wednesday, Yates outlined the Bears sending Fields to Las Vegas for the Raiders’ third-round pick and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow.
Raiders Quarterback Situation Remains Uncertain
In pitching the deal, Yates wrote that Fields must be considered in the context of the rest of the NFL’s incoming quarterbacks. At No. 13 in the first round, the Raiders would be looking at the likes of Michael Penix, Bo Nix or J.J. McCarthy. Fields turns 25 next month, making him just a year older than Nix or Penix. McCarthy is 21, but probably not good enough to pick No. 13.
“The Raiders are in clear need of a quarterback — Jimmy Garoppolo was benched during the season, and Aidan O’Connell hasn’t shown enough to be the only option under center for coach Antonio Pierce — but their QB choices in the first round at No. 13 might be limited. Fields would give Las Vegas some stability.”
Stability might be a stretch. Fields is 10-28 in his career as a starter. He has established himself as the best running quarterback in the league—and one of the best runners, period—as he ran for 1,143 yards in 2022, with an incredible average of 7.1 yards per carry.
But the Bears were too predictable without Fields acting as much of a passing threat, and they tried to force him to throw more this season. The results were mixed, as Fields did throw for a career-high 197.1 yards per game, but logged a passer rating of 86.3, 24th in the NFL.
Justin Fields Would Have Awkward Reunion With Luke Getsy
Yates also asserts that having Getsy and Fields getting back together is a good thing, despite the Bears having put up the ninth-worst passing grade (62.2) in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus.
Wrote Yates: “After the Raiders hired Luke Getsy (formerly the Bears’ offensive coordinator) as their offensive coordinator, no other team has a better snapshot of what Fields brings than the Raiders. Getsy’s opinion surely would influence the viability of a deal like this getting done.”
Maybe the most difficult aspect of trading for Fields, though, is the idea that you’ve got to pay him after this season—there would be just one season to determine what his future as Raiders quarterback is. Spotrac projects Fields getting a whopping deal when he becomes a free agent after his season, coming in at $47.1 million per year, which translates to a five-year, $283 million contract.
The cost for a shot at Fields—a third-rounder and Renfrow—is not too debilitating. But there are plenty of reasons why Fields would just not be a fit.