Bears are expected to trade Justin Fields for a playmaker worth $10.4 million.
For Kyle Pitts and a draft selection, Justin Fields? As the Chicago Bears consider their choices for the 2024 season, ESPN is tossing forth one audacious suggestion.
Aaron Schatz predicted that the Atlanta Falcons will acquire Fields from the Bears in exchange for Pitts, the No. 4 overall choice in the 2021 NFL draft, in ESPN’s preview guide for the 2024 offseason. Schatz offered a “big prediction” for each of the 32 clubs.
“Before Chicago uses the No. 1 overall pick on a new starting quarterback, the Falcons will use Pitts as part of a package to pry quarterback Justin Fields away from the Bears,” Schatz wrote in the Falcons section.
The more the NFL Scouting Combine begins on February 29th, the more many in the league believe that the Bears will select Caleb Williams of USC with the first overall choice in order to select a new quarterback. In his Senior Bowl notes from February 3, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler stated that “most people I talked to… expect” the Bears to have the first selection.
If the Bears take a quarterback with the pick, though, they will need to figure out which team is willing to make the biggest trade offer for Fields. The Falcons, who threw as many interceptions (17) as touchdowns in 2023 and ranked 28th in the league in completion percentage, could certainly make a compelling case for a new quarterback.
Falcons must decide Kyle Pitts’ fifth-year option.
The Falcons can choose to pick up Pitts’ fifth-year option for the 2025 campaign until May 2. Pitts has been largely disappointing after making the Pro Bowl and amassing 1,026 receiving yards in his first campaign.
Despite being a top-5 draft selection, his performance has fallen short of expectations, and some have questioned the way the team employed Pitts under head coach Arthur Smith, who was sacked in the first week of January.
Pitts’ fifth-year option is estimated by Over the Cap to be worth around $10.56 million. In 2024, the last year of his rookie deal, the Falcons are already obligated to pay a comparable cap charge of around $10.47 million. However, if they sell him before June 1st, that amount may be practically halved to approximately $5.3 million.
Regarding his fifth-year option, there is disagreement about whether Pitts belongs in the wide receiver or tight end class. Pro Football Focus reports that the 23-year-old has lined up in the slot for 49.6% of his plays and has taken 30% of his snaps out wide. In the event that the NFL permits him to be classified as a receiver, Atlanta would have to set aside money to
Kyle Pitts might be the Bears’ big-bodied wide receiver.
At first look, a scenario in which the Bears trade Fields for a tight end may not seem all that appealing, but Pitts is more remarkable than the typical tight end.
Pitts, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 247 pounds, plays more like a large-bodied wide receiver than a conventional in-line tight end. His skill set would be a fantastic asset to the Bears, especially in light of Chase Claypool’s disappointing performance. When the new league year starts on March 13, they could also use the depth at tight end with Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis as they make their way to free agency.
In this case, the Bears also have to consider their rookie quarterback. While Cole Kmet has proven to be a top-notch, dependable starting tight end over the last two seasons and DJ Moore is a fantastic No. 1 option, the addition of the Pitts in 2024 would add another dynamic element to Shane Waldron’s reconstructed Bears offense, particularly if the Bears add more receiving talent through free agency or the draft.
Sports writer Jordan J. Wilson writes about the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears for Heavy.com. He has previously covered sports at every level, from high school to professional, for a range of media, such as The News-Gazette, The Indianapolis Star, Springfield State-Journal Register, and Peoria Journal Star. Additional information on Jordan J. Wilson
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