Justin Fields takes the high road on Bears’ past ahead of Steelers’ future originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Justin Fields endured no easy task being traded from the Bears to the Steelers on March 16 ahead of a pivotal contract season.
But during his first media session with his new team in Pittsburgh, he took the high road on his reflection on his native team and the grueling process of being traded.
“There were a lot of ups and downs,” Fields said. “But all-in-all I appreciate every relationship that I built. All my teammates, they know that. Nothing but love for the city, the fans and my old teammates and coaches.”
MORE: Justin Fields speaks on Ryan Poles, Steelers trade in first Pittsburgh press conference
Fields found himself stranded on an island during the early part of the offseason while waiting for the Bears to make their decision about the future of the quarterback position. He mentioned to the St. Brown brothers on their podcast he wanted it to be over so he could start working again for whatever team he’s on.
General manager Ryan Poles was aware of the difficult situation Fields was stuck in. Poles told the media at the NFL Scouting Combine in early March he desired to “do right” by Fields in a trade scenario. And they did just that.
They tried to trade him as soon as possible, and they did, sending him to Pittsburgh on March 16, a few days after free agency opened up. They also traded him to one of the four teams Fields preferred in the Steelers. The other three included the Falcons, Vikings and Raiders.
That set up Fields for a sufficiently free offseason to prepare for a pivotal season.
“Shoutout to Poles, we communicated to him through my agent, and I told him where I wanted to be and this was a place I wanted to be, so he honored that and I appreciate him for that and glad he was able to put me in a spot where I wanted to be at,” Fields said.
Fields said it “wasn’t really a shock” to learn the Bears were trading him. He got the sense they were…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/justin-fields-takes-high-road-212842617.html
Author : NBC Sports Chicago
Publish date : 2024-05-21 21:34:50
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