The Chicago Bears made their feelings on Justin Fields apparent from the moment they drafted him. A team doesn’t just give away an extra 1st round pick without having a serious conviction on a player. The only other time Ryan Pace has done it was the Khalil Mack trade. He was a proven commodity. So when the Bears GM did that for a kid who hadn’t even taken an NFL snap? It said a lot.
This was something undoubtedly spearheaded by head coach Matt Nagy. He’d been tipped off on Fields a year prior in 2020 during a phone call with friend Ryan Day, head coach at Ohio State. Day insisted Fields was special. A generational talent. That statement piqued Nagy’s interest and so he kept himself apprised of the QB’s exploits. The more he watched, the more he liked. After getting a chance to meet the kid prior to the draft? Everything fell into place.
He wanted Fields and it became his job to help sell him to Pace.
It wasn’t difficult. Soon the entire Bears brass was all in on the young quarterback. From there it was a matter of clearing the biggest hurdle. Getting high enough to draft him. Unfortunately, the asking prices to reach the top 10 were just too high. So the team was going to need a bit of luck. Sure enough, some odd pre-draft buzz caused Fields’ stock to slip. When he tumbled to the 11th pick, Pace finally struck a deal with the Giants.
Months later, it seems like the team has zero regrets about their decision. Quite the contrary, in fact. According to Albert Breer of the MMQB, the feeling inside Halas Hall is they may have committed a bigger robbery than even they expected. Just look at Matt Nagy’s answer when asked about Fields’ progress since April. It pretty much tells the entire story.
So maybe we’ll see Fields soon. Maybe we won’t. Much, that same history will tell us, rides on the Bears’ place in the playoff race—it’s no mistake that those three redshirts played for teams that contended. So, again, the good news for Bears fans is either the team will be really good, or Fields will probably play.
And if they want more good news? Just know that when I asked Nagy if the Bears brass feels stronger about Fields, and having taken him 11th, now than in April, he didn’t skip a beat.
“Oh, hell yeah,” Nagy said, laughing. “Oh yeah.”
Justin Fields has done everything asked of him and more
The progress he’s made over the past few months speaks volumes. He’s already gained a measure of mastery of the offensive system and the complex language it requires. That is a big reason why his execution of it steadily improved over the course of the preseason. From here it is a matter of learning to read coverages and set his protections. Two things that typically take the most time for a young quarterback.
This is the primary reason why the Bears are content moving forward with Andy Dalton. It has nothing to do with their confidence that Justin Fields will be good. Merely a way for them to buy him more time to prepare. If they weren’t confident he could play right now? He would not be the #2 quarterback on their roster. Especially over somebody proven like Nick Foles. Justin Fields can play now. They just don’t think he has to.
Needless to say plenty of fans and media disagree.
Either way, it is more obvious than ever that the Bears don’t regret their decision to go hard after Fields when they did. While they will have to stomach being on limited resources for some time to come, the prospect that this team finally landed a genuine franchise quarterback makes the price paid irrelevant in their minds. They’re just as eager as everybody else. It is about doing this the right way rather than the immediate way.