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

Falcons general manager outlines why opinions on Justin Fields may have evolved after the NBC Sports article about the 2021 draft first aired. Chicago

 

NFL general managers sometimes find it difficult to swallow the bitter pill of pursuing players who a team has already passed on. It’s equivalent to severing connections with a player for whom a general manager may have had to make great sacrifices.

 

Nonetheless, front offices are occasionally willing to take this action for the benefit of the company.

General manager Terry Fontenot was vague when questioned about the prospect of teaming up with Bears quarterback Justin Fields, whom the Falcons passed on in the 2021 NFL draft, but he did not completely rule out the notion of reopening a file that had been destroyed before.

 

Fontenot said on NFL Network, “You evaluate players at every point in their careers.” And for that reason, it’s crucial

that we assess each player as we move through free agency and consider

potential deals. You will never review a report from the previous year or the year

before that. We will examine the players’ developmental paths.

 

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

Thus, the question remains: What level of impression has Fields’ initial three-year career output left on the Falcons? Even more impressed than when they passed over Fields in favor of Kyle Pitts with the fourth overall choice in the 2021 NFL Draft?

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.

However, Smith has left Atlanta. The team’s offensive coordinator, Zac

Robinson, was hired by newly appointed head coach Raheem Morris, a defensive-

minded coach, to take charge of the offense. Having worked as a private

coach before joining the Rams in 2019, he is an expert at quarterbacking.

 

Regarding the offensive they want to conduct, he and Morris have shown little

reassurance. If there’s one thing that’s definite, though, it’s that Arthur Blank,

the coach, and the team are keeping all options open 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.

With the NFL free agency period beginning on March 15 and the new league year quickly approaching, the Bears have a limited amount of time to move Fields. The Bears should shop Fields sooner rather than later if they want to maximize the return they get for him in the trade market.

 

Is that directed at the Falcons? Fields seems to cross a few things off Robinson’s mental checklist.

 

Robinson stated, “That guy has to be the most competitive guy in the room” while describing his ideal quarterback. “They got to have the inventory of throws.”