Fields traded to Steelers (for real)

[dawhizz]

Let the level-headed, rational takes commence. 
 

https://x.com/rapsheet/status/1769131145688461483?s=46&t=cLrE-3h2uw3rACxhQZYEvg

for 2025 6th rounder that becomes a 4th rounder if Fields plays over 51% of snaps (comparable to the Mac Jones trade compensation with a caveat, essentially). So no additional draft compensation for this year. Seems like a deal done to help Fields get some clarity on his future now. 

[jason]

Horrible value. Better to keep him as insurance, and see if the new QB can beat him out.

[Stinger226]

Now everything is cleared up. We can move on to a new QB and no more fighting. 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

17 minutes ago, jason said:

Horrible value. Better to keep him as insurance, and see if the new QB can beat him out.

Agreed. Oh well. 

[Stinger226]

I don't need to say I'm disappointed, I rooted for Justin because I always want good people to succeed. He was our QB until Poles moved him, so I can move on. Now all the I'm smarter than you crowd can gloat for the next few days. I just  became a Steelers (B) fan.Bears (A) because I still think Justin can be a above average NFL player in the league. 

Next step is Caleb our QB or will Poles surprise us? 

[killakrzydav]

Wowzers

[50england50]

Happy to get behind whichever QB we draft, but might as well have cut him for the return. Feels like we’ve been fleeced. 

[Mongo3451]

I guess he did right by Justin like he said he would.

[Pixote]

We almost always get fleeced on trades. 

The worse was when we got a 3rd round pick for future HOF Greg Olsen.

This one is a close 2nd. We got garbage. Should have kept him and gambled on a better trade in future.

[adam]

My assumption is Poles made sure he went to a good franchise and didn't care about the value in return, ie, doing good by Justin, but he clearly did not do the second part of that statement and do what's best for the franchise. No way do you get less than what SF got for Trey Lance. That's embarrassing.

Also, this is obviously a 2025 pick and no way he plays 51% of the snaps to make it a 4th, so this has a current year 7th round value on the trade. 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

Totally botched unless this was just moving Fields wherever he wanted to go. Horrible value. 

[adam]

What it comes down to is their own internal evaluation of Justin. If they didn't think he could improve enough to pay him, and based on the compensation, 31 other teams felt the same way, then what can Poles do? 

There would've been way too much drama in the locker room and with the fanbase, so this is an unfortunate set of circumstances. 

[CrackerDog]

I’m pissed off.  Not only  because I’m a Fields fan but mostly because this is crap.  They procrastinated through the time when a much better deal was available.  They’re going to have a huge problem explaining this to the Fields or Die people out there.  
 

I’m embarrassed to have believed in Poles.  

[DABEARSDABOMB]

I think they missed market here - but this also goes to show you how little nfl gms thought of Justin. It comes down to - NFL gms don’t buy running qbs. Shoot the whole league could have signed Lamar and never even made a play at him last year yet Cousins had 4 teams offering him a massive contract. 
 

By the way - I still think Fields is better than 10 NFL starters but as I have long said he just isn’t a good enough thrower (in terms of getting ball out quick and reading defenses) to ever be in top 10.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

Just want to say thanks for Fields. He busted his ass and was nothing but an amazing teammate and wore the uniform with pride. 
 

I will forever root for him and truly wish him the best with Pittsburgh!!! 

[Mongo3451]

Have we forgotten the position Poles has put is in?  The Carolina trade trumps any botched trade over the last several years.  Poles not only did Justin right by this trade, but also the locker room and any potential player that we aquire.  Players talk and this will reap the fruit going forward.

[adam]

What pisses me off is the Steelers have no fleeced Poles twice. After the Claypool trade, I would've blacklisted them from that point on. 

[BearFan PHX]

I gotta say it, and I wont harp on it I will say it once.

The league has spoken and Fields is not a starter. Teams chose Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, even Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye over Justin.

His value was a 2025 6th rounder, which is worth a 7th rounder this year - basically nothing. I can imagine that Poles may have passed on a slightly better deal, but there was no 2nd round pick out thereto be had, no less a first rounder, and Poles has known he was taking Williams (barring something unexpected in his medical) and he didn't need to finish with Williams to trade Justin. And this is deeply true because he hardly got anything for him, so whatever insurance you think Justin may have provided, Poles was willing to forgo it for almost nothing.

He got a few million off the cap, and cleared out the locker room for the next guy.

I don't think Poles did the wrong thing or even screwed up. I think his idea of Justin's value was more in line with reality than what a lot of fans thought it was. And the league agreed in unison in the loudest terms. Justin lacks something necessary to succeed in the NFL, and without that skill set, all his incredible plusses don't matter.

It's exactly what I've been saying since October. I took a LOT of crap for being early to see this. First I was told I needed to let the rest of the season play out before I could proclaim that what was already clear on tape could be true. Then the goalposts moved and I had to wait until the draft to see etc etc.

Well, it was just true. It was on the tape. It wasn't that I had a bad attitude or was a hater. It was just that I could see that Justin had fatal flaws, and I said so.

And. I. Was. Right.

So to all the people who thought it was ego, or how could I possibly know or whatever the basis of all the crap I have taken for these six months - at the end of the day the NFL and Poles agreed with me, and Fields is what I (and they) say he was.

It would be nice, but not expected, if the people who were questioning my fandom, football knowledge and character would admit that I wasn't wishy washy about it. I didn't leave myself any escape hatches in case things went another way. I was 100% convicted in what I saw as the clear obvious objective truth, and in the end, I was correct. What I saw was real, and not the product of my ego or negativity. Or anything about me at all. It was just the tape. That's all it was. And that's all it's ever been. And it wasn't because I think I am better than anyone, because anyone else could have joined me in this opinion and been right along side of me. Many here did. Because they believed it themselves, certainly not because I did.

If I was an overly negative person, you'd have heard me complaining about some of our other players, or the new signings. In the fall you'd hear me being overly critical of Williams and negative. But you won't. I am optimistic and excited about Williams, and I will give him the same patience and hope I gave Fields for several years. I was very excited when Fields was drafted. I believed in him.

And I admit that Fields came into a tough situation. It was a real obstacle to his growth in many different ways. Not fair to him at all. But if that narrative captured the entirety of the problem, then we would have had better offers, and Fields would be a starter somewhere.

I truly wish him well. He was a good guy, a leader, an electrifying athlete and extremely likeable as a person. But he is not a good NFL QB, and he's been decoded and never will be a consistent winning starter in this league.

I will also say that being SO right about this one thing isn't because I think I have some super football brain. It doesn't mean  I think I can make guesses like this all over the place and be sure I'm right. Usually things are much murkier to me. It was simply that what I saw on tape from Justin was so clear that I knew for SURE about this one thing.

[AZ54]

2 hours ago, jason said:

Horrible value. Better to keep him as insurance, and see if the new QB can beat him out.

If that's real it is horrible.  Might as well hang onto him and get the comp pick next year.  

[Stinger226]

I don't have a problem with the results. He waited to gain more information on the rookies before deciding. I would  be more pissed for him  to jump in the QB Russian roulette to get a higher pick. Doing right by Justin was getting him out of here at any cost.instead keeping him around to the chaos that follows.

Now how do we get more picks and not trade pick one.

[AZ54]

39 minutes ago, adam said:

What it comes down to is their own internal evaluation of Justin. If they didn't think he could improve enough to pay him, and based on the compensation, 31 other teams felt the same way, then what can Poles do? 

There would've been way too much drama in the locker room and with the fanbase, so this is an unfortunate set of circumstances. 

hang onto him.  He's a lot better than any other backup and in-season someone always need help.  Or just get the comp pick which will be of higher value than this.   

[adam]

4 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

I gotta say it, and I wont harp on it I will say it once.

The league has spoken and Fields is not a starter. Teams chose Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, even Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye over Justin.

His value was a 2025 6th rounder, which is worth a 7th rounder this year - basically nothing. I can imagine that poles may have passed on a slightly better deal, but there was no 2nd round pick out there no less a first rounder, and Poles has known he was taking Williams (barring something unexpected in his medial) and he didnt need to finish with Williams to trade Justin. And this is deeply true because he hardly got anything for him, so whatever insurance you think Justin may have provided, Poles was willing to forgo it for almost nothing.

I dont think Poles did the wrong thing or even screwed up. I think his idea of Justin's value was more in line with reality than what a lot of fans thought it was. ANd the league agreed in the loudest terms. Justin lacks something necessary to succeed in the NFL, and without that skill set, all his incredible plusses dont matter.

It's exactly what I've been saying since October. I took a LOT of crap for being early to see this. First i needed to let the rest of the season play out before i could proclaim that what was clear on tape was true. Then the goalposts moved and I had to wait until the draft to see etc etc.

Well, it was just true. It was on the tape. It wasnt that I had a bad attitude or was a hater. It was just that I could see that Justin had fatal flaws, and i said so.

And. I. Was. Right.

So to all the poeple who thought it was ego, or how could I possibly know or whatever the basis of all the crap I have taken for these six months - at the end of the day the NFL and Poles agreed with me, and Fields is what I said he was.

It would be nice, but not expected, if the people who were questioning my fandom, football knowledge and character would admit that I wasn't wishy washy about it. I didn't leave myself any escape hatches in case things went another way. I was 100% convicted in what i saw as the clear obvious objective truth, and in the end, I was correct. What I saw was real, and not the product of ego or negativity. It was just the tape. That's all it was. And that's all I've ever been. And it wasnt because I am better than anyone, because anyone else could have joined me in this opinion and been right along side of me. Many here did.

If I was an overly negative person, youd have heard me complaining about some of our other players, or the new signings. In the fall youd hear me being overly critical of Williams and negative. But you won't. I am optimistic and excited about Williams, and I will give him the same patience and hope I gave Fields for several years.

And I admit that Fields came into a tough situation. It was a real obstacle to his growth in many different ways. Not fair to him at all. But if that narrative captured the entirety of the problem, then we would have had better offers, and Fields would be a starter somewhere.

I truly wish him well. He was a good guy, a leader, an electrifying athlete and extremely likeable as a person. But he is not a good NFL QB, and he's been decoded and never will be a consistent winning starter in this league.

I will also say that being SO right about this one thing isn't because I have some super football brain. It doesn't mean  I think I can make guesses like this all over the place and be sure Im right. usually things are much murkier to me. It was simply that what I saw on tape from Justin was so clear that I knew for SURE about this one thing.

It was almost a guarantee once Poles spoke at the combine, I think he made a mistake there. The Jaguars got a 6th in the current year's draft and a conditional pick in the following year's draft for Gabbert. There are a ton of trades for bad QBs with less potential than Fields that got more. 

Here is one kicker, the Steelers won't pick up the option, then can decide on which QB to go with next season, as both Wilson and Fields will be UFAs. Guess what they get if the QBs sign elsewhere? A comp pick. With QB salaries naturally higher, even backups command a 3rd or 4th round comp pick level. The compensation is shocking. 

[BearFan PHX]

1 minute ago, AZ54 said:

hang onto him.  He's a lot better than any other backup and in-season someone always need help.  Or just get the comp pick which will be of higher value than this.   

Bagent is a better backup.

[BearFan PHX]

6 minutes ago, adam said:

It was almost a guarantee once Poles spoke at the combine, I think he made a mistake there. The Jaguars got a 6th in the current year's draft and a conditional pick in the following year's draft for Gabbert. There are a ton of trades for bad QBs with less potential than Fields that got more. 

Here is one kicker, the Steelers won't pick up the option, then can decide on which QB to go with next season, as both Wilson and Fields will be UFAs. Guess what they get if the QBs sign elsewhere? A comp pick. With QB salaries naturally higher, even backups command a 3rd or 4th round comp pick level. The compensation is shocking. 

Obviously Poles felt that clearing out a QB controversy was worth losing that 3rd rounder.

As for Poles speaking at the combine ruining the value, that only matters if there is only one team interested. If two teams saw him as a starter, theyd have to bid with each other and then true value is established regardless of Poles' comment?

[Stinger226]

Poles gets to take heat for the results but we have a better team with a potential Mahomes 2.0 QB on the horizon. plus another top 10 pick. If he gets this right , we will be competing for SBs for many years to come. The bright side will be  no big expense on a QB for 4 years. I just hope a selfish Caleb doesn't pop up a couple years from now and holds out for a new contract because he thinks he's special. Super egos carry baggage with them.