Falcons GM explains why feelings on Justin Fields might have changed since 2021 draft

Falcons GM explains why feelings on Justin Fields might have changed since 2021 draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Chasing players a team previously passed on isn't always the easiest pill for NFL general managers to swallow. It's the same energy as cutting ties with a player a GM might've sacrificed a lot to acquire.

But sometimes, for the sake of the organization, it's a move front offices are inclined to make.

When asked about the possibility of joining forces with Bears quarterback Justin Fields --- who the Falcons passed on in the 2021 NFL draft --- general manager Terry Fontenot kept it general, but didn't rule out the idea of reopening a previously trashed file.

"You evaluate players at every point in their careers," Fontenot told NFL Network. "And that's why it's so critical as we go through free agency, and again, possible trades, we're evaluating every player. You're never going to look at a report from last year or the year before. We're going to look at the evolutions of the players.

"Yes, to answer your question, we have to be detailed and evaluate players in every phase."

So the question stands --- how impressed are the Falcons with Fields' body of work over the first three years of his career? More impressed than when they opted to take Kyle Pitts with the No. 4 pick in the 2021 NFL draft instead of Fields?

Back then, head coach Arthur Smith was a known nonfan of Fields. And after failing to recreate the successful run-heavy offense he schemed for Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee with Desmond Ridder, Marcus Mariota and Matt Ryan in Atlanta, he clearly was disinclined then, and could be now (with the Steelers), to chase after Fields.

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But Smith is no longer in Atlanta. Newly appointed head coach Raheem Morris, who is a defensive-minded coach, hired offensive coordinator Zac Robinson to take over the team's offense. He's a quarterback guru, having coached privately before joining the Rams in 2019.

He and Morris have been noncommittal about the offense they plan to run. But if there's one certainty, it's that the coaches and owner Arthur Blank are open to all possibilities for their next signal caller.

"Whether it's a pocket guy, whether it's a guy that can move around a little bit, we're just looking for the best guy that we can do," Robinson said during his introductory news conference Wednesday. "Certainly know the guys that are here, we're evaluating everybody, so Taylor [Heinicke] and Desmond [Ridder], we're looking at those guys.

"All options are on the table."

At one point last season, Blank opted to call the Falcons' quarterback play "deficient." All avenues via free agency, the draft and trade are open for the Falcons. Could Fields, a Georgia native, be the answer the Falcons are looking for at quarterback?

For the Bears, it appears they're ready to move on from Fields. Almost every NFL insider under the sun believes strongly the Bears will opt for Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick and trade Fields.

That leaves the Bears a short window to trade Fields, as the new league year and NFL free agency are just around the corner (March 15). If the Bears want to optimize the return they receive for Fields in the trade market, it'd be in their best interest to shop him sooner or later.

Could that be to the Falcons? Fields appears to check off some boxes on Robinson's mind.

"That guy's got to be the most competitive guy in the room," Robinson said of what he wants in his quarterback. "They got to have the inventory of throws."

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