The 2023 NFL season has not been kind to the Chicago Bears and quarterback Justin Fields. After receiving a ton of playoff hype entering the season, the Bears have been unable to reach for any of those expectations. Heading into Monday Night Football to end Week 12, they are just 3-8 and are heading for yet another high draft pick.
Some have begun thinking that the Bears could move on from Fields after the season. If they have a chance to draft USC standout Caleb Williams at the top of the 2024 NFL Draft, will they take it? That seems to be the big question in Chicago.
Despite all of the commotion about a potential quarterback change in Chicago, the franchise has seemingly remained committed to Fields. There is no denying the talent and potential that Fields has, but he simply has not taken the leap that was expected of him so far this season.
Heading into tonight’s matchup, Fields has spoken out and revealed a major change that he’d like to see in the offense moving forward.
“To be honest, I feel like deep balls, just in general, I feel like it’s what I do best. I think I throw the ball down the field exceptionally. It’s one of my strengths. I’ve been doing it since high school, college. I think it’s one thing that I do best and one thing that I think we’re going to keep doing and get to more.”
Fields has missed quite a bit of time this season due to a rough thumb injury. To this point in the season, he has played in just seven games. In those appearances, he has completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 1,370 yards, 12 touchdowns, and six interceptions, to go along with 341 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Those numbers aren’t horrible, but they certainly aren’t the big step forward that many were expecting. He was even receiving MVP hype prior to the start of the season.
At just 24 years old, it is way too early to be giving up on Justin Fields. He still has plenty of time to continue developing and becoming the player that the Bears drafted him to be. Chicago should avoid the temptation to go after the next hot quarterback and stick with building their franchise the right way around Fields.
Expect to continue hearing speculation about Fields’ future with the Bears. Throwing the deep ball more would be a wise thing, but allowing Fields to grow naturally and continue to build the roster would be the best possible thing Chicago could do.
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