The Chicago Bears haven’t necessarily begun soliciting offers for quarterback Justin Fields, but other NFL teams began inquiring about a potential trade for the former first-round draft pick at this year’s Senior Bowl, according to Sports Illustrated.

Pre-draft events, including the scouting combine, have often served as an unofficial catalyst for trade talks, and “those conversations” with other NFL teams allowed Chicago staffers to “start to gauge” Fields’ value this offseason, per Albert Breer.

The Bears still “really like” Fields as a QB prospect three years after drafting him No. 11 overall, according to Breer, but they are “meeting over the next couple weeks to finalize plans” at the position. Many expect the team to use this year’s No. 1 overall selection on a consensus top QB prospect like USC’s Caleb Williams, effectively resetting the position (and its contract situation).

If the Bears intend to replace Fields at the top of the draft, it stands to reason they’ll look to trade their current starter sooner rather than later, in order to capitalize on the pre-draft QB market. While trades cannot be finalized until March 13, the official start of the 2024 league year, terms of an agreement can be negotiated and preliminarily accepted at any point between now and then.

Fields has drawn strong reviews from Bears teammates after three promising but injury- and turnover-riddled seasons in Chicago. But Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels are all expected to come off the board early in the draft at QB.