'Wild-card' NFC East team linked with Bears QB Justin Fields

The New York Giants failed to convince quarterback Russell Wilson to join them in free agency, but Gordon McGuinness of Pro Football Focus believes Big Blue could look elsewhere for a potential replacement for 2023 Week 1 starter Daniel Jones. 

For a piece published Wednesday, McGuinness named the Giants as a "wild-card" team that may pursue and possibly land Justin Fields via an offseason trade with the Chicago Bears. 

"The former sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft earned PFF grades above 70.0 in all three seasons between 2020-22, but he has yet to show that he can be that franchise quarterback," McGuinness said about Jones. "Fields earned a 74.6 PFF grade in 2023 and has earned rushing grades of 84.0 or better in each of the past two seasons, which would be a nice fit for (head coach Brian Daboll's) offense with the Giants." 

At this point, it's difficult to ignore the rumblings regarding general manager Joe Schoen and Daboll allegedly being "absolutely done" with Jones while knowing that they can escape the 26-year-old's contract next offseason. 

Regardless of what anybody thinks about Jones' on-the-field attributes, it's understandable that Schoen would view a quarterback who has suffered a pair of worrisome neck injuries since the start of the 2021 season and then went down with a torn ACL this past November as a liability.

Fields may prove to be no better than Jones with any club, but the 2021 first-round draft pick could soon become an inexpensive one-year rental assuming it's true that the Bears won't want him sharing a locker room with presumed No. 1 overall draft selection and USC Trojans star quarterback Caleb Williams. 

History suggests Schoen wouldn't care that Fields' team must exercise or decline his option worth around $25.7M for the 2025 season by the May 2 deadline, as Schoen declined Jones' option back in the spring of 2022. 

While the Giants recently agreed to a contract with backup Drew Lock, that shouldn't stop Schoen from offering a day-three draft pick to Chicago for Fields. 

Some have linked Fields with a Philadelphia Eagles team that may want to stash a dual-threat quarterback beneath starter Jalen Hurts on the depth chart. However, Bears general manager Ryan Poles previously vowed to "do right by" Fields, and the 25-year-old theoretically would receive at least a chance to compete with Jones for the Giants' starting job this summer. 

Unless Schoen has already decided he's moving up in the draft order for a to-be rookie quarterback, taking a flier on Fields isn't the worst idea considering the Giants have no proven long-term QB1 on their roster ahead of Easter.