Should The Buccaneers Trade For Justin Fields?

On Wednesday morning it was reported via tweet by Jason La Canfora that multiple general managers around the league believe that Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields “will be dealt”. The Bears have the number one overall pick in the draft and would have their choice of any quarterback in the upcoming draft. If there is a prospect who they love in that position then it is possible the team could trade Fields, who was drafted 11th overall in 2021.

With a talented young quarterback potentially available every team with a need at the position should be looking into this option. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are certainly in this category. So the questions then become, does Justin Fields make sense for the Bucs and what would a trade for him look like?

Price

There are two aspects to think about when discussing price. The first is how much in terms of capital it will cost to acquire him. The second is how much the team will actually have to pay him.

The second part of this conversation is simple. Fields is on his rookie contract for the next two seasons and has a third year team option that the Bucs can choose to pick up or not. This means that Fields as a rookie is on one of the most cap friendly contracts you will find and that’s a big deal for a team in cap trouble like the Buccaneers.

The other part of this is asking what the Buccaneers would have to give up to get him. As the 11th overall pick two years ago this will likely not come cheap. It’s fair to assume that Jason Licht would have to send their first round pick this year back in this deal.

However, there are other factors to consider. The first is that the Bears would already be giving up on him after just two years. This would not be a ringing endorsement for what they think about Fields and that hurts his trade value.

The other factor is how much time he has left under contract. The Bears have already used up two valuable years of his very cheap rookie contract. This means the Bucs would have to pay him much sooner than they would the rookie they drafted with that first round pick they’d be sending back.

With this diminished value, it’s likely that the Bears would send a lesser draft pick back to Tampa Bay. This could be a third or fourth round pick along with Fields in return for that first round pick. Adding a starting quarterback at that price and still having the ability to draft a contributor with the pick sent back in return makes this trade make a lot of sense from a financial perspective.

How Good Is Fields?

In his first two seasons, Fields has thrown for 1,870 and 2,242 yards respectively. This includes a total of 24 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions. These numbers can be described as modest at best. 

With that said, Fields has shown the ability to be a great runner at the NFL level. He has1,563 career rushing yards, including 1,143 last season. So as pedestrian as he has been as a passer so far, he still brings excellent play making ability as a runner.

But is this enough to want to trade for Fields? Can he really last in the NFL as a below average passer as he has been in his first two seasons? The answer to that is absolutely not. As things are now, Fields hasn’t been good enough as a passer for anyone to want to pay a premium price to get him.

However there is every reason to believe that Fields will improve as a passer moving forward. 

Good Situation vs Bad Situation

We saw Fields have an incredible college career at Ohio State. In 2019 he threw for 3,273 yards with 41 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions. He showed the accuracy and talent that general managers dream about. 

Of course, Fields played on some great teams at Ohio State. NFL receivers such as Chris Olave and offensive rookie of the year Garrett Wilson were a part of that team. This was undoubtedly a good situation for a quarterback.

That has not been the case in Chicago. From a patchwork offensive line to a ragtag group of pass catchers the talent around Fields has been very bad with the Bears. He has also had two coaching staffs in as many years, so there has been no consistency with the system either.

A fresh start could do Fields a world of good. Going to a place like Tampa Bay where he can play with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin could jumpstart his career. Protecting and putting talent around any young quarterback is always key to their success.

Should The Buccaneers Make This Trade?

If Fields is actually available and the cost is similar to what I have projected then the Buccaneers shouldn’t hesitate to make this move. It would give them stability and talent at quarterback and a legitimate long term.

It would also make their vacant offensive coordinator position much more attractive. An incoming coordinator would know who their quarterback would be and the type of talent they have to work with. 

Fields could be the answer for all the Bucs questions. Who the quarterback this year will be, who the quarterback of the future will be and why would an offensive coordinator want to come here can all be answered with Fields. If there truly is a trade to be made then this is an obvious move for the Buccaneers to make.

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