The Minnesota Vikings appear all in on drafting their QB of the future in April, but there was another viable option on which the organization chose to pass.
Kirk Cousins signed with the Atlanta Falcons almost immediately after free agency opened, leaving the starting job vacant in Minnesota. At that time, the Chicago Bears were still shopping quarterback Justin Fields and coming to grips with the fact that a second-round return in a trade wasn’t going to happen.
Ultimately, the Bears traded Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick that becomes a fourth-rounder if he plays 51% of the team’s offensive snaps in 2024. Chicago accepted that minimal return, at least in part, because general manager Ryan Poles wanted to deliver on his intention to “do right” by Fields.
