When Justin Fields unfollowed the Chicago Bears on Instagram earlier this week, many fans of the team- and other franchises that could be in the mix to trade for the dynamic quarterback- took notice. Some saw it as a sign that he was done with the team, while others recognized that this has happened many times in sports with no real consequences in the end. Fields, while appearing on the podcast hosted by Bears teammate Equanimeous St. Brown and his Lions superstar brother Amon-Ra, decided to weigh in on the situation.
Justin Fields reveals to the St. Brown brothers why he unfollowed the Bears on Instagram, via @The33rdTeamFB.
? https://t.co/PVuPFC1Ivd pic.twitter.com/b8zPSPDxMM
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 21, 2024
Fields claims that he simply wanted to take an offseason break from football overall- as he also unfollowed the NFL- rather than send any sort of Bears-specific message. However, it's really hard to buy that statement, as he also followed Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson, and Drake London, all of whom are key offensive players for the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are rumored to be a potential trade destination for Fields, a Georgia native, and a great fit with all of that skill talent.
In the same podcast episode, Fields discussed his enjoyment of playing in Pittsburgh when the Bears were robbed of a win at then-Heinz Field in 2021 on Monday Night Football. Fields lauded the Pittsburgh atmosphere and fanbase, a possibly shrewd move as the Steelers are another possible landing spot if he is traded, as they are a QB-needy squad looking to start over with new offensive coaching.
Ultimately, this decision is not up to Fields, which puts him in a tough spot of fielding questions to which he doesn't really have the answer. Thanks to a brilliant trade with the Carolina Panthers ahead of last year's draft, Chicago owns the first pick in this year's draft despite finishing with a middling 7-10 record, which earned them the ninth pick.
The Bears are likely to move on from Fields in favor of elite QB prospect Caleb Williams out of USC, so whether or not Fields wants to stay in Chicago, he could be on the move. Still, even if Fields may be partially in the dark, he's likely more clued in than the average fan, so it's interesting to see his decisions that seem to be related to the situation, even just in terms of social media activity.
