When Steelers general manager Omar Khan sent quarterback Justin Fields to Chicago this offseason for just a 2025 conditional sixth-round pick, many felt he defrauded Bears general manager Ryan Poles.
Levon Kirkland, a former linebacker who played in two Pro Bowls and was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round in 1992, thinks the trade reminds him of another unfair trade the organization made for a Hall of Famer over twenty-eight years ago.
“I believe that by adding Justin Fields, his career is revitalized. Consider Jerome Bettis. Kirkland stated on the “What’s Really Good” podcast that “everyone said Jerome Bettis was a bust with the Rams before he got to us.” “He comes to Pittsburgh because he needs the offensive. It benefits him in the end.”
It would be an understatement to say that Bettis and the Steelers benefited from the trade. After leading Pittsburgh to its sixth Super Bowl triumph in franchise history, the six-time Pro Bowler went on to become the eighth-greatest rusher in NFL history with 13,662 yards.
Furthermore, the Steelers only had to pay a 1996 second-round pick and a 1997 fourth-round selection to get Bettis along with a 1996 third-round pick.
Fields, like Bettis, was written off after a disappointing three-year tenure with the Bears, during which he finished 10-28 as a starter. Kirkland is compelled to draw the conclusion.
“We scooped him up, and he ends up running for all these yards, ends up getting a Super Bowl, being one of the most historic players in Pittsburgh,” Kirkland said.
