Bears QB Justin Fields trying to find bright side in struggles, but time is running out

The Chicago Bears offense has not only failed to take a step forward this season, it looks like it has regressed from the progress it showed late in the 2022 season. 

The Bears are 0-3, have lost 12 consecutive games going back to last season and quarterback Justin Fields has put himself at the center of the storm by making some critical comments of the coaching staff (that he later walked back).

This week Fields said he is trying to find the silver lining to his struggles.

From the Chicago Sun Times:

“All the adversity I go through is gonna make me stronger as a person and as a player. So just gotta look at the bright side of things and think of yourself as going through adversity for a reason. That’s what I’ve been doing.”

Through three games Fields has completed just 58 percent of his passes for only 526 yards with more interceptions (four) than touchdowns (three). All for a Bears offense that has managed just 47 points. 

While it is encouraging to see Fields not get too down himself and look for positives, as Jerry Glanville once said NFL can also stand for "Not For Long" and the Bears' quarterback might getting close to the point where the team has no choice but to look for new solutions. 

By year three you want to see a young quarterback take a big step forward in their development and show some signs of being a high level player. That has yet to happen for Fields, and he seems to be going backwards. The coaching staff and the talent around him might also be a problem, but the bottom line is that Fields is not doing much to help his own cause here. 

The Bears also have a current front office that did not draft him, and is loaded with draft assets in 2024 that should allow them to position themselves to find the next potential quarterback solution.

Along with their own first-round pick, which is looking like it has a chance to be very high in the 2024 NFL Draft, they also own the Carolina Panthers' first round pick thanks to the trade that sent the 2023 No. 1 overall pick to Carolina. At the moment, both of those picks would be in the top-four of the draft. 

That means the Bears would almost certainly have a crack at the best quarterback after USC's Caleb Williams.

CBS Sports released a new mock draft this week that had Chicago using the No. 3 pick on North Carolina's Drake Maye.

If Fields wants to be in Chicago long-term he is going to have to start taking those lessons and turning them into production. Most struggling quarterbacks do not get a fourth year to develop with the same team.