The Chicago Bears better be happy that they’re not an NBA team.
In the NBA, it’s punitive if an organization doesn’t play the market. Just ask the Washington Wizards. The Wizards waited too long to trade Bradley Beal, and they got pennies on the dollar in return when the Wizards found a trade partner in Phoenix.
No position in all sports is more valuable than a starting NFL quarterback. The NFL has worked hard to ensure that this position is protected and paid the most.
The Chicago Bears have the number one pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
That ensured that Justin Fields would no longer be in Chicago, and that’s not bad.
On paper, Chicago set themselves up to get a new starting quarterback and draft picks for Fields.
But the Bears found a way to screw that up.
The longer Chicago waited to trade Fields, the more desperate they got.
That resulted in Fields being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional sixth-round pick that would become a fourth-round pick if Fields plays 51% of the snaps.
ESPN has reported that Pittsburgh plans to have Fields sit behind Russell Wilson this season. That can change if Wilson jeopardizes a Steelers playoff run, but right now, Pittsburgh has a starting quarterback for the price of a backup.
For the Bears, they look like the poster child for hustling backward.
In a quarterback-starved league, the Bears managed to get a conditional late-round pick.
It’s unheard of. It’s the Washington Wizards of the NFL.
