Justin Fields should be on the Washington Commanders' radar if he is made available in a trade
The Washington Commanders are in the midst of a coaching search but whenever they decide to announce who the next coach is he and new general manager Adam Peters have one of the toughest decisions to make. Who will be Washington's next franchise quarterback?
Washington Commanders could focus on trading for a young QB already in the NFL
It's never an easy decision for a franchise to make and for the most part, this franchise has failed to make the right decision for the past two and a half decades. The good news is that Peters and whoever the new head coach is will have options.
Sam Howell may have ended this season on a pretty sour note, but the young QB did show flashes throughout the season of being capable as a starter. The franchise could look at free agency but the best option is a former QB of theirs in Kirk Cousins and fans probably won't get behind bringing him back to DC.
The most likely option is to use their second overall pick in this upcoming draft to select a rookie QB, which isn't a bad option at all. There are some very good options for the Commanders to choose from. However, the franchise could go an alternative route if they don't love the QB options in the draft.
As previously stated, the Commanders already have the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. The team ahead of them in the draft is the Chicago Bears who have the first overall pick thanks to a trade with the Carolina Panthers from the previous offseason. This is where things get interesting for the Bears as they already have a young quarterback in Justin Fields who just finished his third season
The dual-threat QB has shown slow but steady improvement in each of his first three seasons with the Bears. This season in 13 games, he had 2,562 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and a QBR of 46.2. He also rushed for 657 yards and 4 touchdowns.
That's pretty good considering his lack of offensive weapons outside of D.J. Moore. Yet for Chicago, they have to choose between staying with Fields and paying him in the near future or drafting a QB with the first overall pick and restarting their clock in terms of finances. If they decide that Fields isn't the QB of their future, then the Commanders' new leadership should consider trading for him.
It should be noted that the idea of trading for Fields came to me when I was recording an episode of 13 Rings an NFC East Podcast.
The Bears have been terrible at developing quarterbacks and they haven't had a stable one since Jay Cutler and writing that is a stretch. Fields may just need a change of scenery to truly develop into a franchise guy and it's not like the Commanders can't make the trade. Below is a hypothetical trade that could land Fields in DC.
Justin Fields potential trade to DC
This trade is a win-win for both sides. Commanders get a guy who has shown plenty of flashes that he can be a guy and they have two second-round picks to trade, one of them was from Chicago via the Montez Sweat trade. They essentially give that pick back in this trade plus the second pick in the seventh round.
The Bears gets their own second round pick back which should make them excited considering without it they don't have a second round pick. They also get one of the best picks of the 7th round on top of it for a QB they are willing to move off of.
Chicago gets their second-rounder back plus a seventh and Washington essentially flipped Sweat and a seventh-rounder for Fields, which should be considered a win. If the Commanders acquire Fields, then they can use the first for a player like Marvin Harrison Jr., a top-rated offensive lineman, or trade back for more picks.
Trading for Fields gives the Washington Commanders more options in this draft and potential a franchise guy. It's not something new GM Adam Peters should simply dismiss. If Chicago does move off of Fields as their guy, then the Commanders should entertain the idea of trading for him.