The Bears may receive a higher selection this year than they did from the Panthers in 2023, according to Jeremy Fowler and Courtney Cronin of ESPN, which strengthens the case for keeping Fields around.

Numerous business professionals concur that Chicago may earn more from a potential trade partner that already picks in the top five, and more than it earned in the Panthers transaction,” they said. “Those executives feel that two future first-round picks in addition to this year’s selection, a Day 2 pick, and/or a high-end veteran player on a reasonable contract could be the price to get to No. 1.”

Fields would benefit greatly from that kind of value, and Harrison is at the top of the list of possible acquisition targets. Fields would have a strong 1-2 punch from Harrison and Moore, the wide receiver the Bears selected from the Panthers before the 2018 NFL Draft.

Additionally, Harrison and Moore have a history together because they were teammates on a Philadelphia high school track team.
Fields was picked by the Bears in the first round (No. 11 overall), but he won’t fetch the same trade value as the top choice in 2024, whatever that value turns out to be. Fields’ trade worth is estimated to be between a second- and third-round selection by the same executives who anticipated that this year’s No. 1 pick will be more valuable than the previous one the Bears traded.