Why Justin Fields' QB market depends on Kirk Cousins staying in Minnesota

let's go on the beat brought to you by Chevy dri chicago.com we welcome in Matt Lombardo senior NFL rider for fan Buzz Matt thank you for joining us tonight how are you I'm great thanks for having me on what a great time of year this is with free agency about to get underway the combine just in the rearview mirror and lots of Buzz about the Chicago Bears and what they're going to do with quarterback in 2024 and Beyond so let's talk about the combine first we talked to Dave wanstead earlier in th

e show talking about the Impressions that Caleb Williams made I thought he made a positive impression certain things he said the Bears fans needed to hear I think the Bears organization needed to hear what are you hearing about the impression that Caleb Williams made yeah I'm hearing that the gap between Caleb Williams and Drake May and especially Jaden Daniels isn't necessarily as wide inside the league as a lot of people believe it is just from looking on I spoke to a coach in the AFC who told

me that you know there's a lot to like about Caleb Williams that he has everything that you need checks all the boxes but when you put him up against a Jaden Daniels and you put the tape against the tape that there are some unforced errors that kale Williams made during his time at USC that he might not be as mobile as Jaden Daniels is at LSU so I think there's a conversation to be had but you have to take everything you hear this time of year with a little bit of a grain of salt and I just loo

k back at what kale Williams did at USC and I think that he has the chance to be one of those generational Prospect type of quarterbacks that got you that you plug and play into an offense and can Elevate you into becoming an instin competitor I'm with you I think it could be a conversation but it would be a short one because Caleb Williams is the real deal that means there's no room left for Justin fields in Chicago the Bears have been talking to teams about trading Justin Fields Atlanta maybe

Pittsburgh maybe Minnesota different reports in different cities gauge interest in different ways what are you hearing about a guy that you were very high on heading into the season yeah I still think there's a lot of upside project Justin Fields but it seems like he's reached the end of the road in Chicago and I think that the market is going to really be dependent on what happens with Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings right because everybody that you talk to believes that there's momentum

and there's a desire on both sides for that relationship to keep going for Kirk Cousins to re return to the Minnesota Vikings but the Atlanta Falcons are lurking and the Falcons really in a lot of ways they control the board as far as any sort of quarterback movement this offseason I've been told by a couple of sources that they're interested in Baker Mayfield if he doesn't resign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and if they can't get Kirk Cousins or trade for adjustin Fields with the Chicago Bear

s so I think that whatever happens in Atlanta is going to dictate everything else I'm not so sure that the Pittsburgh Steelers are seriously in the market for Justin Fields the all indications seem to be that they want to bring in a veteran to push Mason Rudolph and uh Kenny picket that they're not necessarily look to break the bank at the position so I think whatever happens with the Falcons is going to dictate everything else potentially even if and when and where Ryan PES is able to deal Just

in Fields I'm with you that's why the noise is a bit confusing frankly Matt help me out here why would the Falcons a team that has a lot of young talent and some defensive pieces go after a 35-year old quarterback in Kirk Cousins coming off an Achilles injury why would they even be interested in Russell Wilson Baker Mayfield's not leaving Tampa Mike Evans just signed to be a buck for Life aren't they still the most likely destination for Justin Fields yeah I think comes down to whether they want

to trade the draft Capital to bring him into Atlanta and we know that that Justin Fields is from the area it'd be a return home leading his hometown team with a lot of weapons look at B Bean Robinson Drake uh Drake London Kyle pittz lots of weapons at his disposal uh in Atlanta with a new coaching staff that wants to win now with Arthur Blank committed to try to win immediately uh with this new regime but you look at the Falcons they might not want to deal a third round pick and were a player t

o the Bears to bring Justin Fields into Atlanta you look at the possibility they might view themselves as being a quarterback away from knocking off a team like the Tampa Bay Bucks they might look at the potential turmoil and turnover on the roster because of cap situations in New Orleans and the Carolina Panthers being three years away from being three and a half years away that if they can bring cousins a guy who averages what over 4,000 passing yards per season a guy who's been to the postsea

son drop him into that lineup in that division without having to trade away draft Capital that to me is the only reason why you would go after her cousins over a Justin Fields so it's going to come down to whether Terry fono wants to make the deal for a Justin Fields with upside or the known commodity to try to win immediately with Kurt Cousins okay Matt you're a GM who needs a quarterback I'm going to hand you a piece of paper paper and says this guy threw for more than 3,000 yards last year ha

d 26 touchdowns eight interceptions and he was in the top 10 and pass rating in the National Football League looks pretty good I'm gonna hand you another P piece of paper his name is Russell Wilson and all of a sudden oh gosh nobody wants Russ why not yeah I think you pegged it right there you hit the nail on the head the production is there the numbers look nice but if you watch the eye test and it's not necessarily box score scouting he regressed dramatically during his two years in Denver and

we can talk about whether he was ever a scheme fit for Shawn pyton Shawn pyton helped turn Drew Brees into a Hall of Fame quarterback and won a Super Bowl you just look at what Wilson did and he regressed he talked to people inside the league Scouts coaches there's not a lot of optimism that there's a lot left in the tank for Russell Wilson but I will say this if you can get Russell Wilson on a veteran minimum contract and drop him into a situation where you have some Playmakers where you have

some Talent on offense will you think that you might be a quarterback away or you at least need a bridge quarterback develop a Young quarterback you plan on drafting this year Russell Wilson makes some sense so I wrote yesterday at Fan Buzz that the Las Vegas Raiders might be the only real fit you're doing that to use some energy into that franchise to keep Devonte Adams happy maybe you give the opportunity for a Revenge situation against the Denver Broncos twice per season but the more you thin

k about it if you're the Chicago Bears if you're the Washington commanders if you're the New England Patriots and you're drafting a quarterback high and you think that you can convince Russell Wilson to be a Ridge and a mentor for the veteran minimum you could do a lot worse for seven eight nine games until your rookie quarterback is ready before we get back to the rookie class in this year's NFL Draft I want to ask you this question yes or no true or false Russell Wilson will start more games n

ext year in the NFL than Justin Fields I think I have to go false there presuming there's a trade involving Justin field presuming that a team that's trading for Justin Fields is moving on for him to become their starting quarterback I just don't see any any scenario where teams are happy and thrilled with Russell Wilson being their week one starter and playing him for all 17 weeks okay so if the teams that don't get who they're looking for in free agency they're going to have to go to the draft

and a name that has been obviously more popular since the combine very familiar in these parts JJ McCarthy JJ McCarthy is a guy that Dave wet believes is going to shoot right into possibly the top 10 could be the fourth quarterback taken what do you think knowing which do about Michigan football and JJ how high can he go yeah first of all I'm a Penn State season ticket holder so I witness firsthand him hand the ball up 115 times in Happy Valley to win that game back in November but you look at

what JJ McCarthy brings to the table 2900 yards last year 22 touchdowns four interceptions w a national championship I think he's going to go higher than a lot of people think and you talk to people inside the league and they're a lot more excited about JJ McCarthy Than People Like Us and fans tend to I had a long conversation with Randy Mueller the former NFL executive of the year and he told me that point blank you quote have to put JJ McCarthy in that top tier and he might have the highest ce

iling of any of the top quarterbacks in this draft now that remains to be seen but that's High Praise from a guy who's been around the league for a long time been around top tier quarterback play and knows what he's looking at in these situations I think McCarthy's going to be really fascinating I could see him going somewhere in the top 10 whether he Leap Frogs Drake May and becomes a second or third quarterback off the board or a team like the New York Giants might have to move up to go and ge

t JJ McCarthy if they believe that he is a dramatic upgrade over Daniel Jones but I think those are two situations to watch for McCarthy and I could certainly see him rising up boards as this process goes along the more quarterbacks that go in the top 10 the better off it will be for the Chicago Bears Matt Lombardo thank you for your time you got it thanks for congrats you finished the video if you want to build on that success download the NBC Sports Chicago app it's got highlights exclusive in

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