Ranking Brett Veach’s player trades as Kansas City Chiefs GM
By Jacob Milham
10. The Mark Fields trade
Chiefs receive: 2021 seventh-round pick
Vikings receive: CB Mark Fields
Trading away cornerback Mark Fields was not an earth-shattering move, but the story proceeding makes the trade even better.
Fields was a highly sought-after undrafted free agent after the 2019 NFL Draft. The Chiefs were in their annual cycle of needing depth at defensive back, so adding a solid prospect like Fields was a good move. He’d enjoyed a solid preseason with Kansas City with a good chance to make the 53-man roster until he served up an abysmal performance in the Chiefs’ last preseason game against the Green Bay Packers.
Fields’ performance was so bad that Reid was critical of him on the sidelines which reporter Todd McShay overheard. “Let’s just say that No. 26 doesn’t have a spot on the roster,” McShay said. So, the Chiefs showed their hand on national television yet still found a way to trade Fields for something. Veach traded him to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2021 seventh-round pick after signing him for nothing.
The move was a wash for Fields and the Vikings, as he only appeared in three games for Minnesota in two years. Fields bounced around the league and was last seen being waived by the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. Fields may not have amounted to much, but Veach made sure to get some value from him.