Last Sunday, Justin Fields suffered an AC joint injury to his left shoulder against the Atlanta Falcons. It includes some torn ligaments. Any medical expert will tell you it’s a painful ailment. Fields himself said it was some of the worst pain he’s felt. Keep in mind that this guy gutted out a college football game with cracked ribs and a torn hip muscle. Sunday against the New York Jets isn’t the national championship. That is why many fans wonder if the Chicago Bears will take a cautious approach with their young quarterback. His value to the organization means way more than trying to reach 4-8.
Don’t tell that to Fields himself. He’s stated on multiple occasions that winning is the only thing that matters to him. If he has to play through pain to be there for his teammates, so be it. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reinforced how competitive the 23-year-old is when he provided an update on Saturday. According to his sources, Fields is pushing to play. He feels he can deal with the pain at this point. The issue for the higher-ups in the organization is the risk of long-term injury.
Justin Fields continues to set the standard in Chicago.
If people were wondering why teammates love him so much, this is further evidence. Not only does he work as hard or harder than everybody else, but he’s also willing to play through pain. If the quarterback is willing to make those sacrifices, it sends ripples through the locker room that nothing less should be expected from everyone else. That might explain why the Bears have punched above their weight class in several games this year despite some unfortunate losses. Almost every contest has been competitive.
Most of that is due to the talent and presence of Justin Fields. People can talk about his limited pass numbers and so on. The reality is they’re scoring points every week because of him. Not because of the talent around him. He’s making everybody better. Bad quarterbacks don’t do that. The matter at hand is simple. Do the Bears feel the team can do enough to prevent further injuries against the Jets? It’s on the road against a good defense and on more of that artificial turf. It could go either way, but the sensible options seems obvious.
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