The Desmond Ridder trade proves that no one wants Justin Fields

It’s been a trying few days for anyone hoping the Chicago Bears could successfully trade Justin Fields.

First, the Pittsburgh Steelers opted for late-stage (and probably washed-up) Russell Wilson over him. Then, the Atlanta Falcons wrote a blank check for Kirk Cousins instead of dealing for Fields. When those two primary suitors left the Fields market, the Bears concocted an excuse for their trade failure that lacked all common sense. It’s gonna be really hard for Chicago to play damage control after the Falcons traded away Desmond Ridder — an inaccurate turnover machine who was one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks in 2023. (Lest I forget, even Mac Jones, a guy who Bill Belichick gave up on, got traded before Fields.)

If even Ridder can get dealt away before Fields, it seems pretty clear no one wants the ultimate boom-or-bust player from Chicago:

What has happened here is that the Bears have backed themselves into a corner. They presumably want to move on from Fields and select someone like Caleb Williams in next month’s NFL draft, but they made Fields’ trade price too high, and everyone is effectively saying, “No, thanks.”

It turns out that teams would rather trade for a glorified backup than pay a premium for a bottom-third starter occasionally capable of a few big plays a game. A shocker, I know.